Into Winds of Change
by Fyras14
Summary: Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.
1. Seventy Two

_We cannot bear to regard ourselves simply as playthings of blind chance; we cannot admit to feeling ourselves abandoned. _

**-Ugo Betti**, _Struggle till Dawn_, **1949**

**

* * *

-Prologue-**

**-Seventy-Two-  
**

* * *

_It had only been seventy-two hours and she had already messed up. Years of preparation, years of training, years of taking it slow, gone. All gone in just a mere seventy-two hours and counting... _

_It had been a trap; she had been expecting one, not now, years from now. It would have been a surprise. She'll be the only causality involved. No one would have mourned her. She was fine with that…but now, seventy-two hours and fifteen minutes later, her men were the only dead, and she was the one mourning. It wasn't fair. She had to die. She had to endure the hate and anger, the blame…she swore she'll protect them. And now, they were dead. What would be the point of guarding ashes now? None of her men were left…they had all turned to ash, forever lost in the explosion that shook this small town. No one to protect, no one to blame her…all just gone. _

_Now, only seventy-three hours have passed, and her only hope remains in reaching her goal…the goal she had been given seven years ago, the goal that she'll carry, until she was ready to die…the mission she took for **her **sake. For **her** protection. Because, only **she **mattered now… _

"'_**Claire fell down', that's the message. I hear dat and everythin' ends, okay, Farron?" **_

"_**Yes…you have my word…as long as you keep yours."**_

* * *

They were gonna die, Thudar knew it. They were stuck in this infernal wasteland. Surrounded, actually. Guns all around, ready to shoot at any given moment. Not that it bothered Captain here; she was too busy glaring daggers at that gorgeous blonde to complain about the amount of lead that was about to enter her body. But, then again, if said gorgeous blonde had not ordered their death so animatedly perhaps Thudar would be glaring, too. Unfortunately, the rifles were making that job a little too difficult for him to do; because you just can't ignore a gun to your face.

"Well, Captain…any last words? Perhaps, a declaration of defeat?" Blondie asked, looking smug.

"Go to hell."

_Real smooth, Captain…real smooth. _

"Ah…and I thought I could come to an agreement with you, Farron, but it seems I was wrong."

"Selling myself to you, you mean? Hardly what I call an agreement, Nabaat," the Captain spat, sounding dangerously pissed. That gorgeous bitch wasn't impressed, not that she should be. She had the guns after all.

"Captain, captain," Blondie scolded, as if talking to some child. "you were always so simple minded, weren't you? So…good at hiding behind masks," she snapped her little fingers, and the guns were in position. One shot, two kills. "But, the time of hiding is over…and well, goodbye." Blondie only glanced once, before the first shot sounded.

* * *

I have done it...I have so **** done it now! I should be working on some other stories that need to get finish, but no! Here I am, making a new story...alas, I feel so bad...but, then again...I havent been so inspired lately, and this story is the only one that came to mind...I'm still working on the details, but depending on the reviews this gets and my own imagination, I might update it...I might not.

Now, this story, I will be changing points of view often(not first person pointsofview), just so you know. for example, this chapter was done from the POV of my OC, a central character of this story. During some chapters, the POV will change between these two main characters; some things will be said differently from others, and so on.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**

**EDIT: 12/9/10, Fix some errors, added a few more words.  
**


	2. Allies or So One Thinks

_Think finally of what it means to die for a friend. It is deliberate and painful; there is no ecstasy. For friends, dying is hard and bitter. The dialogue they have and cherish will perhaps never be recreated. Friends do not, the way comrades do, love death and sacrifice. To friends, the prospect of death is frightening. And this is why friendship or, let me say love, is the most potent enemy of war._

___-_**Chris Hedges,**_ War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning

* * *

_

**-Chapter One- **

**-Allies or So One Thinks-**___**

* * *

**_

She was crazy, he'd decided. One motherfucking crazy lady of war; perhaps she had hit her head during service, Thudar reasoned. She was nuts, loco, crazy, because no one in their right mind challenges a gorgeous bitch with over fifty gunmen on her side to shot to kill. No one. Maybe she did have a death wish, but Thudar didn't, and no way in hell was he getting caught in the crossfire…or so, he would have thought, but Captain here was quick to put herself between him and the bullets. Great, just great. Nothing beats a human shield, of course, if the Captain could multiply and cover all his vulnerable sides from the bullets, then, he wouldn't be complaining. Even more.

"What now?" Thudar whispered, looking nervously as Blondie left the scene, the first bullet already hitting the ground nearby. The first shot had been a warning, courtesy of the Captain taking out her weapon, but the others will be a one-way ticket to hell…maybe heaven, but right now, they were definitely in hell. And they weren't dead…yet.

"Stop fidgeting," Captain ordered, readying her gunblade in front of her; as if that would do her any good.

"How, exactly?" Thudar countered. "They gonna fill us with bullets, and all you can say is 'Stop fidgeting'?"

"Shut up, then." Thudar made a face, but quieted down, watching from the corner of his eye, as a soldier stepped in front of the group, and raised the rifle, pointing it straight at Captain's face.

"Ready men," he began. "Goodbye, Captain Farron." Captain only smirked.

"Good thinking." Before anyone knew what was happening, Captain ran straight towards the crazy commandos. Gunblade raised, she stroke hard against her enemies, slashing and cutting before they had a chance to say, 'Shit!' as some had tried, only to be cut off by the Captain's blade.

"SHOOT! SHOOT!" Bullets were fired, all dodged by Captain, who in turn, use their own comrades as shields. Thudar could only stand there, mouth agape, unable to believe that such a petite, pretty woman with that cute pink hair was kicking a lot of soldier ass. If he hadn't stood there, staring, perhaps he would have noticed the soldier behind him, ready to shoot…fortunately for him, Captain did. With a swift motion, her gunblade switched from sword to gun mode. One bang later, the soldier fell limp, and the Captain cried out,

"Don't just stand there, grab a gun and shoot!" she cried, shooting another commando in the face, before somersaulting and slashing another with her gunblade, once more in sword mode. Thudar didn't need to be told twice; getting out of his semi-trance, the young man grabbed the closes rifle to him, and rolled to one side. _Okay…now, aim and fire…it can't be so hard…_Thudar thought, as he aimed, and let out a crowd of crazy bullets, barely holding the rifle in place.

One bullet made it to a soldier's leg, another to his arm, and so on. One almost got the Captain, but she moved out of the way, and tackled a soldier that was taking aim at Thudar. Bullets flew back in forth, with both the Captain and Thudar forced to hide behind a group of rocks nearby; a miracle among this desert wasteland. "Any other bright ideas?" Thudar asked, as a parade of bullets crashed against the rocks. The Captain didn't respond, and instead, switched her gunblade to gun mode, and shot the opposing party. _What a great plan, Captain! Shoot them, run out of bullets, and find a place to hide! Perfect!_ he thought, groaning inwardly. At this rate, they were both gonna die, and no doubt Blondie already noticed the action back here. She might already be sending more of this crazy, shooting commandos.

"Stay on your toes, and shoot."

"How am I supposed to do that, exactly?" Thudar cried out, as another barrage of bullets forced him into lowering his head even lower. "If you haven't noticed, bullets are dancing in the sky and I assure you they don't have left feet!"

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" the Captain asked, a glare present on her pretty features; no doubt already annoyed by Thudar's complaints, but, then again, he wasn't in the military and couldn't handle a gun even if his life depended on it.

"Don't you have something to distract them?" he asked, watching as the Captain fired a pair of bullets, before ducking behind the rock as even more were fired her way.

"...Nothing."

"Nothing at all?"

"No. I lost most of my equipment in the explosion…"

_Ah! _

"Most of the smoke bombs were in the vehicles. The grenades helped."

"Well, never mind then…"

"GRENADE! NOW!"

It only took seconds for either Thudar and the Captain to register the cries, but by then, it was already lying in the floor between them. "HOLY SHIT!" Thudar cried out, only for the Captain to swipe the grenade off the ground, and then, in one swift movement, throw it back to the shocked soldiers, who all scrambled away.

"WATCH OUT! GRENADE! GRENADE!"

"Come on!" Captain cried out, dragging Thudar by his arm, arguing him to flee. Only two seconds passed before an explosion and cries of pain filled the air, but by then, Thudar and the Captain were already up and running.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Two hours passed before the Captain finally called a break, Thudar falling to his knees, breathing in and out, as he glanced back. The cloud of smoke was still in the distance, but no one was chasing them, yet.

"That was crazy!" Thudar cried out, wiping some sweat from his brow. "What the hell was that all about? PSICOM doesn't just show up and shoots people in the face!" He glared at the Captain, who only glanced at him once, before looking at the setting sun in the distance. "And you! You're the one they're chasing, no? But, why? Was it that explosion? Do they think you caused it?" Thudar was hysteric, he knew he was getting hysteric, but he couldn't help it.

Villa Town had been turned to ashes in that explosion, and as long as he was concerned, both the Captain and himself had been the only survivors. Buildings were torn, bodies lay scattered among the wreckage, some didn't even look human upon a rather, nasty, closer inspection. Captain had found him with only a headache to worry about, clothes ripped in places, but otherwise unhurt. She herself had not been so lucky; she had cuts and bruises, a scar already forming on her right cheek, and she had been limping a day prior to being found by Blondie and the Shooting Squad.

"Thinking I caused it would be too farfetched," she answered, sitting on top of a small rock that lay nearby. "If it had been me, I would have hightail it out of there." If she was trying to be funny, Thudar wasn't laughing. "It was a trap. A power tug-of-war if you will." Captain added after a moment of silence. The young man only gave her a look of confusion, before she elaborated. "I was about to get promoted." Captain went on, as if that answered all of the universe's questions. It did, if only a little.

"Okay…so, crazy Blondie girl didn't like the idea you were getting a promotion, and threw a tantrum by blowing Villa into smithereens?"

"In a word, yes."

"But, wait, that doesn't make sense! She mentioned something about the time of hiding being over or something…" Thudar might have not been paying attention to the argument, but he sure as hell listened to the bits. The Captain gave him a cold look.

"…what do you think I was doing since we left Villa?"

"Hmm…running for backup?"

"Hiding."

"Oh…" _Now, that does make sense…_Thudar thought, getting up. _But, then again, maybe Blondie was doing more mocking than anything else…she did offer the Captain to give up…could have saved us a lot of trouble._ "So…now, what?" It took a while for the Captain to respond.

"Now, I'm leaving."

"Wait, what? You can't just leave! I…I…they think I'm backing you up! What if they find me? They shoot to kill, that's what!" Thudar cried out.

"Then follow, but don't expect any rests…I have to reach Edge as soon as possible."

"Edge? You mean, AVANLANCHE territory?" he asked, looking skeptic. "And what then, play hide-and-seek while they shoot you? Because, last I heard, you PSICOM guys are less welcome than a Pulsian beast back in Edge."

"Any place safe from PSICOM is good." Captain answered, and started walking once more.

_Great…now there's another woman throwing a tantrum! Just what I needed!_ Despite his thoughts, it didn't stop Thudar from following her, knowing that she was the only backup he had.

* * *

Action scenes arent my thing...but, I tried. Anyway, sorry for this rather short chapter, I just finished this one up in a fit of inspiration...I do hope I got you-know-who's character in...well, character. Anyway, do hope you leave a review.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**

**EDIT: 12/9/10, a few errors fixed.  
**


	3. Events

_Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action._

**-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

* * *

**

**-Chapter Two-**

**-Events-

* * *

**

"_Earlier this evening, PSICOM forces were forced to put down a rebellion in Villa Town, however, the gunfight turned into a death march after Captain Lightning Farro ordered a frontal attack on the rebels…many lives were lost during the conflict, and now, Villa Town is nothing but ruins. When questioned, PSICOM Lt. Colonel Yaag Rosch, refused to comment on his subordinate's actions, only saying that, 'PSICOM would do everything in its power to investigate this accident'. _

"_In other news, President Rufus Shinra has-" _**CLICK!**

"I can't believe she'll do something like that…"

"What exactly can't you believe, Lebreau? That fucking bitch will do anything to get rid of AVALANCHE…whether they're innocent or not."

"But still…destroying a town of Gran Pulse like that..."

"She'll do whatever it takes to get rid of her enemies…she's no better than a monster."

"Snow's got a point, Lebreau…she's no better than those Pulsian beasts."

"…"

"…I just hope Serah didn't see this…the last thing she needs is more grief…"

"Sure, as if the bar patrons are gonna keep their mouths shut when she comes around from school."

"Don't help."

* * *

It was already night when the Captain finally decided on stopping, and for that Thudar was grateful. From the looks of things, Captain had finally tired herself as well, and was now leaning against her gunblade, having buried the tip into the hard rock to act as a wall to hold her body. Thudar, on the other hand, had let himself fall to the ground in a small 'thud', but that was enough for his aching body. Any kind of rest was good right now.

"Okay…how long till Edge from here, lady?" he asked, after a while.

"Two weeks…a month at the most."

"Two weeks!"

"…"

"You mean," Thudar quickly turned to face the Captain, who had her eyes half-closed, with a shocked expression. "we are going to spend two weeks in this deserted wasteland?"

"…Yes."

"Oh, come on!"

"…If I may remind you, you insisted on coming."

"Well, yeah! If I stayed behind I would have been in a body bag right about now!" The Captain only sighed, before closing her eyes. Thudar stood looking at her for a while, but realized he wouldn't be getting anymore responses from her in a while.

…_another great idea, Captain! Let's just follow the desert…get lost, die of starvation, and be put in body bags! Just terrific! _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Thudar could faintly feel someone nudging him gently on his shoulder; he didn't want to wake up. The gentle nudging continued, going faster and faster, until, it stopped. _Finally..._he thought, digging deeper into his drea—

"OW!"

"Wake up."

Thudar was up in seconds, his hands clutching his stomach, as he turned to look at the Captain, whose left foot was mysteriously joining the right one. It wasn't so hard to decipher what had actually caused the young man to wake up so abruptly.

"You kicked me!"

"I tried shaking you. Didn't work."

"Who in their right mind kicks people while they sleep? In the stomach!"

"People who don't like waiting. Now, are you done complaining?"

"Hell no! You just don't kick people in the stomach and get away with it! How about I kick you in the stomach, then? Would you like that?" Captain only shrugged at the man's complaints.

"When you wake up early next time, do it. I won't stop you." Thudar's only response was to open his mouth and then, close it. The argument was over, and he knew it; Captain was already leaving him behind.

"Hey! Wait up, lady!" he cried, running after her, hand still clutching his aching stomach. To his surprise, Captain did stop, shooting him a glance, as he stood by her side, before taking off again. "Fine. I forgive you," he told her. "seeing as we're gonna be stuck with each other I might as well."

"You didn't have to…"

"Nah…now we're cool…I think…" Thudar replied, finally feeling the aching of his stomach go away; maybe the Captain hadn't really hit him that _hard_. "…so, now that we're cool…umm…what exactly should I call you? Is 'Captain Farron' your whole name? Or should I keep up with the 'lady' gig?" he asked after a while, trying to start a conversation. It worked…kind of.

"You may call me, Captain," she said.

"'I may' or do I have to?" Thudar asked, stopping suddenly. "From the way you said it, I might not have much of a choice." That made the Captain stop.

"Call me Lightning, then."

_Lightning? That can't be her real name, right?_

She gave Thudar a look.

"What?"

"Well, now that I think about it," Thudar started, a fit of inspiration hitting him. "Captain seems a lot more shorter than 'Lightning'." Captain Lightning gave Thudar a cold glare.

"If you are going to keep up with this pointless conversation, then leave me out of it." Shortly after saying that, she began to walk away, not even waiting for Thudar, who in turn whistled nervously. _Okay, maybe that joke was a little unnecessary. _Their walk was filled with silence soon after.

* * *

"_Has Ms. Farron been eliminated, Major Nabaat?" _

"I'm afraid not, sir."

"…_why?" _

"…she escaped. My men took her lightly, something I doubt they'll repeat in the future."

"…_dead?" _

"Yes."

"…_good. Anything else?" _

"Yes, apparently Farron wasn't the only one to have escaped. A civilian is with her."

"…_will this civilian be any trouble?" _

"Maybe….his name is Thudar Jones, no military background whatsoever. He was a delivery man in Villa Town. Age 28. Was coming from Alexandria before Villa was destroyed. He is...the least of my concerns, however."

"…_I see…eliminate him, as well…I don't want witnesses, and I don't need Ms. Farron reporting to Wallace, either. Get rid of her as soon as possible. He may have already figured something out, but as long as he stays in the dark, it will be better for us." _

"Understood."

"_And Major…" _

"Yes?"

"_I hope you enjoyed your promotion." _

"Thank you, Mr. Shinra….PSICOM won't fail you."

"_Make sure of it."

* * *

_

Midday was rapidly approaching when the first sightings of what seemed to be civilization filled their eyes; it may have not been Edge, their main destination, but it would at least provide food and water, provided they had any money.

"I can't believe Headstone Town was this far on foot," Thudar said, stretching. "I'm a delivery boy, I delivered many parcels from Headstone to Villa and back," he explained, when Captain Lightning shot him a look.

"So, you know this town."

"Not like the palm of my hand, but I do know the shops and stuff…but, eh…" Thudar glanced back at her, noticing the dried blood that was still stuck to her skin and clothes, and the pauldron with the two glowing orange stripes on it. "…PSICOM personnel are not well-liked in this town…and if they already know what happened in Villa..."

"…they'll get rid of me…in a worst case scenario." Captain Lightning finished, looking unnerved at the concept whatsoever. She looked back at her pauldron, and in a swift motion took it off, throwing it in the ground as if it were a mere piece of garbage to be disposed of. "Come on, then…as long as they don't think I'm military, no one will suspect…and perhaps you can stay here. Less trouble for the two of us."

"And let PSICOM catch me? No way!" Thudar replied, walking by her side. "Once we reach Edge, then I will be staying. You can go on with your little plan and all that, leaving me out of it." His companion only raised an eyebrow, before walking towards the small town. Thudar, for his part, only hoped nothing bad happened once they reached Headstone…but, then again, even he couldn't be so sure, as he followed the Captain towards their new destination.

* * *

Now, this chapter didnt contain much action...but, I needed to introduce more characters that are going to be important to the story. I have decided to switch this story to be in the crossover section instead, seeing as I will be referencing many Final Fantasy places and characters...also, it may seem that the plot is moving slow, but believe me, I have to make sure these two run into trouble on their way to Edge, and I need to work on their relationship a bit more.

Right now, I made my OC, Thudar, a whiny man who is only concerned on getting out of trouble, but he does show some sort of concern...sometimes.

Cpt. for her part, is cold, and has a dry sense of humor, deadpanning any chance she gets. Anyway, now that we have a name for her, she is going to be reffered to as Captain Lightning, just because. her rank, Captain, is represented by orange.

Here are the ranks that are present in the story(as i will be using slang terms to refer to them in later chapters, if I can remember):

3)Captain represented by orange.

2)Major by purple.

1)Lt. Colonel by green and Colonel by light green.

4)Lieutenant by red, be either first or second. First Lt., however, has a orange stripe accompaning the red.

5)Sergeant will be yellow, like in the FFXIII game.

6)Corporal will be blue.

7)Any level below Corporal will be Light Blue(highest ranking) to White stripes(lowest).

As you can see, they are not in order, but they are arranged from lowest number to largest, representing their importance. (1 means higher than 7, while 7 is the lowest rank) Do forgive me...military ranks escape me.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**

**EDIT 11/26/10: Fixed a few things.**

**EDIT: 12/9/10: Fixed a few things, added a bit of others.  
**


	4. A Fair Judgment

_Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring._

**- Oscar Wilde

* * *

**

**-Chapter Three-**

**-A Fair Judgment-

* * *

**

Headstone Town was rather empty when both Thudar and Captain Lightning arrived; the sun was still up, a good opportunity for the townsfolk to go on their way, with a few, looking at the two travelers oddly. Thudar tried to look as calm as possible, but it was rather hard when a few strangers were giving you strange looks and eyeing the gunblade in your possession a cautious look, as if expecting something. The Captain, for her part, was as stoic as ever, returning the looks with glares that quickly took care of the looks they were getting.

"I still don't get why you have to carry my weapon," Captain Lightning muttered, when both of them finally reached the market place.

"Didn't we go through this already, Captain?" Thudar asked, unconsciously feeling the gunblade's leather case, and the handle of the weapon itself to see if it was still there behind his waist. It was. "Look, if they see you with this thing, they might put two-and-two together."

"There is a possibility, yes."

"So, why the worries?"

"Wouldn't it be more rational for me to carry _my _weapon? After all, I do know how to use it."

_I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that…_

"Can't we just pretend I can use it?"

"What if we run into trouble? You can't just _pretend _to use it, you know,"

"Work with me, will ya?" Thudar shot back, annoyed. "The less time we spend here the better," he went on, eyeing a nearby vendor, who was selling some fruit. "Let's just buy some food and water, then we figure out who pretends, yeah?" Captain Lightning shrugged.

"Fine by me."

_Ah, of course, _Thudar thought, as he went towards the vendor, taking out a couple of gil from his pockets; a few survivors from Villa's unfortunate explosion. He watched from the corner of his eye as the Captain made herself comfortable by leaning in a nearby building's wall, not too close to the food stands, but not too far from Thudar himself. _Man, even if there is no possible threat nearby, she's all business. Guess it comes from being a soldier and all that…_

"Ah, hey, sir?" the young man began, as he neared the stand, catching the older man's attention. The vendor, a chubby man wearing glasses, looked at him, eyeing the gunblade only once, before giving Thudar a grin.

"Heya there, boy! How can I help ya?"

"Umm...yeah, just wondering…how much for the apples and oranges you have here?" Thudar asked, eyeing the mentioned fruit standing proudly in the stand.

"One each, two gil. A whole dozen would be twenty gil," the vendor replied, smiling. Thudar sighed; that was more than enough! He had enough to buy at least four dozen of each if he could carry them, but…Thudar turned to look back at Captain Lightning, still leaning against the wall, looking around with an almost, bored expression on her face. _Bet the captain here wouldn't want to carry much…we don't have any bags with us, and if we're going to get water as well, we might as well carry the least we can…guess only two of each for both of us then… _

"Can I have four of each?"

"Sure enough, boy! Here ya go!" It took less than ten seconds for the vendor to put the fruit in a paper bag and relieve Thudar of his money. Thanking him for the fruit, the young man turned to face the Captain, but found her staring straight ahead, a look of seriousness in her pretty features.

_Oh…boy… _Turning to face where she was looking, Thudar almost dropped the bag he was carrying. Walking towards the Captain, was a spiky black-haired man with the largest sword Thudar had ever seen, and wearing a dark blue uniform. A small insignia on the shirt he was wearing confirmed it all. A SOLDIER. One of Shinra's soldiers, known as the strongest humans on Edge and back.

"Is…is that…?" Thudar whispered, as the SOLDIER got closer towards the captain.

"A SOLDIER?" the vendor asked, a smile on his face. "Yeah, he is. One of the best…a first class." Thudar's eyes couldn't get any bigger then.

_A 1__st__ Class SOLDIER! We are so screwed! _

Apparently, he wasn't the only one that thought that. Captain Lightning had turned tense all of the sudden. No longer leaning in the wall, she glanced back at Thudar, sending him a silent message: _Give me the gunblade. Fast. _But, by the time the young man got the message, it was already too late. The SOLDIER was already in front of her, a smug look on his face…soon, it would be too la...

"Hey there, beautiful, are you lonely?"

…_wait…what? _

"E-excuse me?" the Captain asked, looking shocked and not even bothering to hide it, as both Thudar and the vendor looked back at the exchange, the former with his mouth hanging open.

"Do you have any plans?" the SOLDIER went on, a happy smile on his face. "I could treat you if you want. From the looks of things," he eyed her with a critical eye, before grinning. "you could use a hand."

…_okay…just what the heck is going on here? Are there hidden cameras somewhere around here? Is this some sort of joke?  
_

"Ha, that Zack boy is at it again!" the vendor laughed, catching Thudar's attention.

"Huh? Zack boy?"

"Yeah, quite the ladies man," the vendor said, shaking his head as the SOLDIER, Zack, went on with his flirting, while the Captain maintained an unbelievable look on her face. "Came here a few days ago, we had been having some trouble with a few punks…one of the bosses back in Shinra decided to send this boy in. Took care of those punks, and then, decided to stay in case they returned."

"Th-that explains it…"

"Sure does, eh? Half the girls 'round town were already won over by this fellow! If he actually lived here, poor guy wouldn't be able to stand it, that's for sure! Guess your friend over there is not exactly so 'won over' by the looks of it," the vendor said, turning a small grin towards Captain Lightning, who was by now, blushing and looking flustered.

_Poor Captain…seems she's never taken compliments before, _Thudar thought sympathetically. _I better give her a hand…if that SOLDIER starts to chase us around to get a date with Lightning there's bound to be trouble. _Nodding to the vendor, Thudar slowly made his way towards the two, only to be held back when the cheery sound of a cell phone interrupted the mood.

"Hmm?" Zack looked a little disappointed when he took out his phone. Flashing the Captain a small grin, he walked away a little to have some privacy. Once he was gone, Thudar took his chance, and was side-by-side with the Captain herself.

"Any trouble?"

"…not really…if being asked to a date is considered any," she answered, a bit of pink in her cheeks. _Bet she isn't used to so much compliments in one sentence…and probably she wasn't expecting that reaction from a SOLDIER. _

"Well, we can ditch him now, if you want." Thudar replied, beginning to walk once more; Captain Lightning stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"…wait…" she whispered, as she eyed the SOLDIER. Seeing her look, Thudar turned to look at the man as well, and found him still with his phone, looking at the Captain, a strange look in his eyes. Then it hit him.

_Oh…DAMN!_

Quicker than the eye could see, the SOLDIER threw his cell phone to the ground, and took out the long sword, running towards the captain at a speed Thudar thought impossible. Captain wasn't too far behind, as she quickly pushed her companion away, after grabbing her gunblade and setting it on sword mode. Thudar fell to the ground as the two blades clashed; the fruit all but forgotten on the floor along with the bag they were in.

"You had to lie to me with that pretty face, eh? Captain Lightning Farron, I'm afraid I have to take you down." Zack told her, with a crooked smile.

"Try it, pretty boy." Both of them separated from each other, and crashed their swords once again, with Zack sending Captain Lightning down to one knee, as she tried to stop the SOLDIER's sword from cutting her in half.

_Damn it all! _Thudar thought, as he got up, and watched as the Captain pushed the giant sword away with a little difficulty. _We have to get out of here! FAST! _Looking around, and trying to avoid to see the bewildered face of the vendor and a few others, Thudar tried to find something to help the Captain out; she was already sweating, her blows becoming more sluggish, forcing her to do more dodging than attacking now.

"Give up!" Zack yelled, slamming his sword into Captain Lightning's gunblade. "You can either come _with _or _without _legs, Captain Farron! Better choose wisely, my patience is running out!"

_And mine, too! _Thudar thought, as he left the Captain to fend for herself, looking from left to right, trying to find something, _anything,_ to get out of this get both of them out of this mess. He watched from the corner of his eye, as the Captain pushed Zack away, her gunblade going into its gun mode, and shooting at the SOLDIER who dodged the bullets with ease.

"BAD CHOICE!" Zack cried, as he slammed his giant sword against the Captain's gunblade; it snapped in two. Captain Lightning responded by slapping him _hard _in the face, before kicking him in the stomach. Zack was caught by surprise by the blows, and fell, but even that wouldn't save the Captain from her incoming fate.

_SHIT! GOTTA MOVE FAST! GOT—_

Thudar stopped fast, as he spotted a young man, younger than him, riding a motorcycle, his eyes glued to the fight between the PSICOM Captain and the SOLDIER. At that moment, Thudar knew exactly what to do. He ran towards the vehicle, and grabbed the other man's collar.

"What the hel-" Thudar didn't let him finish as he pushed him off the motorcycle, and got in.

"Need your ride! See ya!" And with that, Thudar drove away, straight towards Zack, who was already up, and about to give the Captain a killing blow. "MOVE IT!" The SOLDIER saw him first, jumping quickly out of the way, as Thudar grabbed Captain Lightning's arm; she returned the greeting by jumping behind him, and grabbing his waist as the motorcycle ran, out of there, and out of Headstone. Glancing behind him, Thudar spotted Zack running towards them, as if that was going to do him any good…at least, before he got into his own bike and gave chase. "YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" The Captain only glanced once, but didn't say anything. Despite the fact that the SOLDIER was now in a bike, he still had a long way to reach them. And both he and the Captain knew it. Thudar for his part was freaking out.

"Just move…he won't reach us."

"And how do you know that?" Thudar asked, frantically thinking about how he had to avoid getting his head cut off by Zack's giant sword.

"Trust me." Captain Lightning pointed her thumb behind her. "He's slowing down."

Not wanting to take his eyes away from the road, but not wanting to be left in suspense, Thudar looked back. Zack was rather far off, and from the looks of things was apparently slowing down. The Captain was right.

"What?"

"He's calling for backup." Was Captain Lightning's only reply, as the bike disappeared deeper into the desert, and the SOLDIER's own stopped giving chase.

**

* * *

**

Zack Fair looked into the distance as the bike carrying Lightning Farron and that strange man left his sights. A small sigh escaped him, as he got out a small radio from the motorcycle's side bag.

"Goodbye, paycheck…hello, boss."

…..

"_Tseng here."_

"Bad news, buddy…Farron got away."

"…_Farron's gone?" _

"Yep. She's got an accomplice. Probably heading towards Edge."

"…_I see…listen…report to base. Don't give chase…let PSICOM chase their own rouge agents." _

"Well, yeah…but, old Rosch called…sent me the documents through the phone, which by the way, is broke now." Zack added, with a grin.

"…_Hmm…so now, they made it Shinra business, eh?" _

"It seems so…so, do I still have to go back to the base? Or chase them?"

"_No…come back to the base…they still haven't ordered SOLDIER to take part, so don't worry about it." _

"Got it."

"_And Zack?" _

"Yeah?"

"…_this is the second phone you break…why?" _

"…do I have to answer that?"

* * *

I suck at action scenes...I tried...I really did, but I might have screwed up a bit. Please excuse any errors in this chapter, and enjoy.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.  
**

**EDIT: 12/9/10: Fixed a few things and added others.  
**


	5. Caretakers

"_The past is the key to the future, but the present has no door."_

**-Unknown

* * *

**

**-Chapter Four-**

**-Caretakers-

* * *

**

It had only been an hour. An hour of worrying, and hour of looking here and there, an hour of waiting to see if they were about to get killed. An hour of waiting; Thudar was starting to hate it.

He glanced back at the Captain, whose face was as passive as ever, no longer looking around like crazy, but calm, thoughtful. _Wonder what's eating her up, _Thudar thought, as he forced the bike to avoid a group of rocks nearby, catching the woman by surprise. She gave a small gasp, before holding tighter onto Thudar's waist. "Sorry about that."

"…"

_Typical…she's ignoring me again._

It wasn't like he wasn't used to her 'I hate you, don't talk to me' attitude, but she was just too quiet. Even for her…but, then again, it must be a soldier thing. Didn't mean it stopped him from starting a conversation, though.

"Hey," he began, catching Captain Lightning's attention; it was a glance, but attention nonetheless. "something on your mind?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, you've been pretty quiet, not that's its unusual, but still…you even seem a little out of it."

"…Do I?" came her response, quieter than Thudar had expected.

"Yep." There was silence, then, but if Thudar was surprised, he didn't show it. Conversations involving the Captain tended to be slow and to the point.

"…Thank you."

The sudden remark almost made Thudar lose focus on his driving. He glanced back at Captain Lightning, who, for the first time he could remember, wore a small, rather sincere smile. _Why is it getting so hot in here all of the sudden? _

"…wha…what for?" came the man's shaky question, as he looked back at the desert road before him. He had expected the Captain to take an hour to answer, but her response was straight and true.

"For saving me."

For once in his life, Thudar was shocked beyond words. He hadn't seen that coming. He really hadn't. In fact, he hadn't really expected any of this in the past four days, but then again, he hadn't expected many things.

He had expected the Captain to just abandon him to his fate, let him starve in the desert, left him still unconscious on Villa, or maybe killed him herself, but she had not. She had protected him, she had helped him, she had even put up with his constant whining. Captain wasn't as bad as some PSICOM guys tended to be, sure, she was harsh, but who wasn't? He had been harsh towards her when they first met, remembering how she had found him, already close to going crazy. She had tried soothing him, before deciding that slapping him in the face would have been more effective. It would have been much more easier to just leave him there to die or go mad…but she didn't. She let him come, she gave him protection…and damn it all…why was it getting hot all of the sudden?

A little red covered his cheeks, as Thudar grumbled his answer, "…that makes us even, then…"

"…Very well, " she said, before she off-handily added, "Maybe if we keep up with this pace, we might actually reach Edge by tonight, maybe tomorrow in the early hours." Thudar soon lost the red tint of his cheeks, inwardly sighing.

_Let the tantrum begin…

* * *

_

He couldn't stand her tears, he never could. He was one of those guys who didn't know what to do when they saw a girl cry. They tried everything in their power to ease the girl's suffering, asking them what was wrong, what they needed, comforting them, telling them that everything was going to be alright.

But, Snow Villiers couldn't tell his fiancée that. She was in a different level. One just didn't expect words to fix a mess, and telling Serah that it was going to be okay was just plain wrong. The only comfort that he took from all of this was the fact that those tears weren't meant for him, however, that only sent him boiling with rage when he thought of the person whose those tears belonged to.

Lightning Farron, Serah's older sister and the only family she had. The same sister that had shattered her heart too many times to count. The soldier that had taken the lives of innocents. And the only person other than Snow, that Serah would cry for.

It was just stupid, Snow would think. How can Serah still love Lightning after all she had done? All that innocent blood she had spilled over her fine carpet? He hated Lightning Farron for what she made Serah go through. It just wasn't fair, but then again, it wasn't fair for her little sister to spill tears over her. She didn't deserve them.

It wasn't going to be alright anytime soon, either. So, Snow just stayed by her side as she let everything go, cried for a sister that would probably never spare her a glance, any love.

It never was fair to Serah, and Snow hated Lightning for that.

* * *

Night was not a pleasant time of the day for Thudar and the Captain, but the only comfort they could take from all of this was the fact that weather had turned cooler, much to Thudar's relief.

They had managed to avoid trouble, for the past ten or so hours, and had gotten a bite to eat, courtesy of the bag that Thudar had stolen, along with the bike, from that stranger back in town. It was enough food and water to last them for a couple of days. They would live, at least, as long as none of those PSICOM or SOLDIER fellows spotted them.

_At least, we are getting closer to Edge, _Thudar thought as he spotted city lights not too far away from where the two of them were. He glanced back at the Captain, who had spotted the city light as well. Stoic as ever. _She must be ecstatic. _

"Pull over."

The sudden remark caught Thudar off-guard, and for a few seconds, he didn't know what to think. He complied, nonetheless, stopping the bike.

"What's up?"

"We have to go back."

"...What?"

"PSICOM's already here." As if to emphasize her point, Captain shot a glance in the distance. Thudar took a while to spot whatever she had seen, but soon saw that most of the city lights that he had spotted where in pairs, and apparently belonged to a large mass of black that moved left and right. He barely spotted the light on the distance, too…a search light, maybe?

"Damn it…they're guarding the border!"

"A little too late and we might have been easy targets," Captain Lightning remarked. "We have to go back."

"And meet up with your boyfriend back in Headstone?" Thudar asked, as he stared at the supposed PSICOM patrols nearby. "Not the best idea."

"No…not to Headstone…we have to get in Edge as soon as possible." Thudar was tempted to ask her why, but decided against it at the last minute. "We are taking an airship."

"…an airship?" the young man asked, looking back at the Captain as she were out of her mind. "How's that any…uh….sneakier?"

"PSICOM expects us to go to Edge by land." Captain replied, she gave the lights in the distance a pointed look. "The search lights aren't pointing at the sky…yet that doesn't mean that the ports aren't going to be well-guarded either."

"Okay, so let's say for a moment we are taking the airship opinion…how do you suggest we get ourselves an airship, or at least, some sort of ticket to get into one? Last I recall, airship tickets were little gold mines on paper…and I haven't heard of an engineer that would do a ride for cheap." The Captain shrugged, unconcerned, her eyes still glued to the patrols.

"We'll improvise."

"You mean, steal an airship?" Thudar asked, looking surprised.

"You stole this bike," she pointed out, before she shook her head. "And, no, we won't steal anything….I know a man called Cid Highwind…he might be able to help us cross the border without any trouble…let's just go before one of those two snipers sees us."

"ONE OF THOSE WHAT?"

* * *

Hello...again, I apologize for the crappy writing...but well, no one is perfect...anyway, this chapter introduces a character mentioned in the a few chapters back...she and this other fellow won't make anymore appearances until later on, but i put them there for a reason.

Right now, or two characters were about to enter Edge, but what do you know? PSICOM is there to party...and things dont look that bad, but they arent good either. Next chapter will probably contain more action, or not. I still havent planned out that chapter yet...so it might take a while to make it out of my mind.

Hope you enjoy this chapter though...

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**

**Edit: 12/9/10 Another few edits. And a story title change.  
**


	6. Greetings from Rocket Town

_Keep your fears to yourself but share your courage with others._

**-Robert Louis Stevenson**

**

* * *

**

**-Chapter Five-**

**-Greetings from Rocket Town-

* * *

**

"Rocket Town?"

"Rocket Town. You've never heard of it?"

"No…it's not that…this is the first time I hear that there's airships in Rocket Town."

"Mr. Highwind began making the airship a few years ago…since he was rather secretive about the project, he kept it to himself."

"And how come you know he has an airship if he was so secretive about it?"

"…watch the rocks."

"Watch the—WHOAH!"

Thudar turned the bike a little, evading the small group of rocks that the Captain had warned him about.

It had already been a couple of hours since they left the outskirts of the Edge border and the PSICOM patrols; already the sun was shining and a tall, rather large structure could barely be seen in the distance. Rocket Town, their next destination to reach Edge.

"Gee…thanks…almost got us killed," the young man muttered, as he glanced back at Captain Lightning, who had a calm expression on her face. "Could have warned me sooner, though,"

"Too busy talking," the Captain pointed out, before staying silent.

For the last seven or eight hours—Thudar couldn't be so sure—he had tried to make small talk with the Captain, with varying degrees of success. While he wasn't talkative himself by nature, the silence was just too much to take, and so, he opt for asking her about PSICOM, their ranks, about Blondie aka Jihl Nabaat, and many other pointless stuff. That had taken a few good hours during the trip, which was already getting exhausting. Thudar would have fallen asleep on the moving bike had he not started talking about himself a bit; a good three hours, before finally succumbing to silence. Then, just ten minutes earlier, Thudar had asked where they were meeting this Cid fellow, and another conversation had arose. Not much of a conversation, but still something.

"…so, how do you know he was making an airship, again?" Thudar asked, his eyes glued to the sandy road before them.

"…I went to visit Rocket Town a few weeks back for some errands…before Villa was destroyed…and I just found out by sheer dumb luck."

"So, let me guess, if you hadn't known about this Cid fellow then we would have stolen an airship?"

"Most likely."

"Man…that would have been hard…a little too hard…especially without any weapons," Thudar said, recalling how that SOLDIER had broken the Captain's gunblade in two, its remains forever forgotten on the floor of Headstone.

"…I'm a soldier…I can manage without a weapon for a few days."

"Well, that's good to know, because we might need another day to reach that big Rocket in the distance," Thudar replied, pointing a finger at the structure that they both could barely see from where they were from. "If we keep up with this pace…considering we have just enough fuel," he added, glancing at the dashboard. "By either today or tomorrow at about one in the morning we'll be in Rocket Town."

"Pretty accurate."

"Hey, I told ya I am…well, was now, a delivery man. I know my way through places…especially if it's on a motorcycle."

_Yeah…how I missed a giant airship hiding in Rocket Town a year ago is still a mystery to me…_he thought on the side, as he glanced back at the Captain, who only gave him a nod.

"Yeah...never quite expected to be running for my life one of this days, you know?" he began after a while, catching Captain Lightning's attention. "Wonder what my friends back in Alexandria must be thinking. I bet Yuna would be frantic."

"Yuna?"

"A friend of mine."

"Oh…"

"And…what about you, Captain? Have anyone else besides yourself?" At that, the woman turned her head, seemingly interested on the lack of scenery before her, while Thudar watched her from the corner of his eye.

_Oh...I must have said something I shouldn't have…_

"Hey…look, you don't have to tell me if you don-"

"…a sister."

"—huh?"

"I…I have a sister…" she said, her voice a mere whisper, causing Thudar to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"A sister?" A nod. "…well…she must be worried sick about you, then."

"…" The Captain only closed her eyes, a hurt a expression on her face. Thudar only gave her a sympathetic look, as if understanding her meaning. He decided to say something, see if he could make i—

"…**.rrrrrrrrr…." **

Both Thudar and Captain Lightning tensed at the sudden sound, with the man muttering, "…Captain…please tell me that was you…"

"**GROOOAAAA!"**

As soon as those words had left Thudar's mouth, a large, blue-feather bird with a crooked beak appeared from above. Before either of them knew what was happening, the large bird tackled the bike, sending both of its occupants down.

"Argh!" Thudar cried, as the motorcycle fell right on top of him, crushing his left leg, as he felt the bruises building up on that side of his body. The Captain hadn't had it any better, but then, a loud screech caused the young man to turn to see his companion. His eyes widen considerably when he saw the young woman latched onto the creature's head, holding its beak tightly for fear of it peaking her to death. Her left leg, Thudar noticed, was bloody, probably from getting out from under the bike the hard way.

"GET UP AND GET OUT!" she yelled, as the bird monster tried to shake her off as it flew low, shaking the Captain back and forth for her to let it go. Thudar, for his part, tried to quickly move the bike from off of him; the stupid thing didn't look that heavy before!

"**GROOOAAAA!" **the bird creature cried, crushing its head, with Captain Lightning to the ground. Hard. She only let out a gasp, still clutching unto the beast's head.

"CAPTAIN! LET GO!" Thudar cried, quickly, but slowly, removing the motorcycle's weight from his leg. His plea was unanswered, as the bird once more slammed the Captain, still on its head, to the ground.

_DAMN IT! DAMN IT! GET OFF OF ME YOU METAL BEAST! _the young man thought frantically, watching in horror as the bird tried to slam the Captain in the ground; she poked it in the eye, causing it to flinch and shake its head in pain. By the time the bird was done shaking its large head, Thudar was out from under the bike, and looking around frantically for something, _anything_, to help the young woman out. What if she got seriously hurt? What if she got killed? What would Thudar do…what would—He had to help her! NOW!

"**GROOOOAAA! GROOOAA!" **the creature screeched again, slamming the Captain into the earth once more. Thudar flinched along with her, before picking up a few small rocks. They wouldn't be enough, but if he distracted the bird enough Captain Lightning could get away…or off of the bird, as it was.

"HEY! BIG BIRD! COME AND GET ME!" Thudar cried, as he threw the rocks at the bird's face, barely missing the Captain's own. The monster bird screeched again, a rock hitting it straight into his injured eye. It was enough. The bird had its sights on Thudar, and the latter was out of rocks.

…_somehow….this heroic thing…was stupid…_he thought, as the bird prepared to advance. Fortunately, that meant the bird wasn't paying attention to Captain, who now, was on top of its neck, despite her harsh breading…her hands were around the bird's neck…

_SNAPPPPPPP! _

In a swift motion, Captain Lightning twisted the bird's neck. The creature only blinked once, before it fell hard on the floor, the Captain not too far behind, falling just on top of it, and just as hard. Thudar was by her side in minutes, checking the half-conscious woman for any broken bones or any injuries other than bruises.

"Are you okay, Lightning?" he asked, again and again, only getting nods in response as he kept on checking her arms, legs, even a few parts of her stomach. "Lightning, Lightning…please, you gotta stay awake…can you do that?" Thudar pleaded, watching as the woman close her eyes in exhaustion, her battle with fatigue finally over. "Damn it, Captain! Wake up!"

…_what if she dies? _

"Captain! CAPTAIN, COME ON!"

…_what if I can't help her?_

"Wake up!"

…_she's not waking up…_

Captain Lightning's breathing was shallow, and getting more so by the second. She was alive, but, for how long. A grim look decorated Thudar's features as he went over to the fallen bike. It took less than five minutes to get the thing up again, before he went back towards the young woman and picked her up. He put her right in front of the dashboard and the handle bars, making sure she was leaning against him, as he used his left hand to grab unto her waist. It took a while to start the bike again, but when he did, they were out of there, the corpse of the giant bird all but forgotten.

…since when did this stranger become so important to him?

* * *

The conference room was always empty during this time of day, but for Major Jihl Nabaat, it was enough. The silence was enough for her to consider her words and actions for the coming days; Farron was still out there, trying to find Barret Wallace of AVALANCHE.

"…Hmm…who would have thought that someone as cold as you would be one of them?" Nabaat asked herself, a pretty smile forming on her face. "I guess we all hide behind masks…but, I suppose you were better at that, Farron," she chuckled. "Too bad for you, then…" She glanced behind her as the sound of doors opening met her ears; Yaag Rosch had entered.

"Major Naabat," he acknowledged with a small surprise. The Major in question only saluted to her commanding officer.

"Sir."

"…how is the situation with Captain Farron? Has she been arrested, yet?"

"I'm afraid not, sir….the Captain is quite…well, dangerous now…" The Lt. Colonel rubbed his eyes with his left hand, muttering,

"…out of all the people…never would I have thought that Farron would…" What he said next was inaudible, but Nabaat already knew the answer. She inwardly smirked. As long as Rosch didn't know who set up the bomb in the first place, her plans could go as smoothly as possible. No one would know anything…Rosch and these other dogs from PSICOM would be kept in the dark about Lightning's true motives…the bombing in Villa….everything. "Well, then…Major…" Rosch began once more, snapping Nabaat out of her thoughts, as she stared at him through thin-framed glasses. "…if Captain Farron doesn't wish to come into custody peacefully, use of force would be necessary."

"Of course, sir."

_With any luck, Lightning is already dead…good for me and the president…_the woman thought, nodding to her commanding officer.

"...however, do me a favor," he went on, a frown in his face. "make sure she is brought back alive…but, if you can't manage that…" The Lt. Colonel let the words hanging, but Nabaat nodded, nonetheless.

"Understood."

_You think talking to her will work, Yaag? Tsk…you are still such a child! You think she and you can still talk as allies? Fool. You and her share the same outlook on life…I just know how to take advantage of it. Hmph…_With that, Nabaat saluted once more, before leaving the conference room, comforted by her own thoughts at the foolishness of one man.

* * *

_It was dark…so dark…she had to breathe…she had to…but she couldn't…she couldn't…_

…_her comrades were dead…all of them…taken by surprise by that gunner. Only she had remained standing…and then…blackness…darkness…it was so hard to breathe…so hard to breathe…would she die? …But…but, if she did, who would take care of Serah…she had to get out of there…she had to learn how to breathe!_

"_Now, now…my little porcelain doll…don't struggle," came a voice, sick with madness, covered in sweetness that she couldn't identify. "Stay still, my dear. This won't take a while…I just want something from you…I just couldn't get it from those other scumbags with you…" A strange sound caught her ears, as she fought to opened her eyes; it was getting closer…closer…her eyes were just too heavy. "Stay still," the voice ordered, but she couldn't. She had to open them! _

_ Her strength seemed to return out of nowhere…her eyes opening without restraint…and then, she saw it. Standing above her was a tall man, long white coat covered in blood, with long grey hair tied in a ponytail, a set of glasses glancing towards her, as red eyes clashed with blue. His features were so disorienting that instead of a man, she could have sworn she was seeing a monster. _

"_Now, now…" the monster spoke, his voice breaking into a terrifying growl. "Stay still…little light…stay still…" Suddenly, in his hands, a chainsaw made its presence known, and her eyes widen considerably as she saw the chainsaw being lowered…_

…_.towards her. _

_ Her struggling began anew…with the mad man telling her, in the sick voice that everything was going to be fine…the chainsaw getting closer and closer…until…it ripped flesh, blood flew in every direction possible…_

…_and then, her screams began. _

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Lightning didn't know where she was…she was sweating and breathing fast. In and out, faster than any normal human was allowed to. She looked back and forth, not really seeing anything only hearing that mad man's voice in her head; Stay still...little light…stay stil—

-she felt someone press something cold on her forehead, her mind snapping back into reality.

A woman, older than Lightning herself by a few years, wearing glasses over green eyes and a beautiful brown, almost blonde hair tied into a ponytail with a gentle smile on her face, looked back at her. "…are you feeling better, now?" she asked, her voice kind and soft, as if speaking to some wounded animal. "You were screaming just now…almost gave that young man and my husband a heart attack…" she went on.

"…wh…what?" Lightning finally asked, blinking. The remnants of those awful memories burying themselves deep in her mind.

"…Your friend that brought you here, to my home. Thudar," the woman explained, nodding. "I'm Shera…and my husband is Cid Highwind…I believe you already know each other."

_Highwind? …just how long have I been…out? _

"…Cid…yeah…I do know him…ouch…" Lightning flinched as she tried to get up from the soft bed, the woman now noticed she was resting on. Shera was quick to push her down.

"Now, now…don't you go hurting yourself," she said, a worried look in her eyes. "she were badly bruised when Thudar brought you here…now, please, stay down. I'll get you some tea." And with that, Shera got up from the chair she had been sitting on, and quickly left the room, leaving Lightning alone, to consider this turn of events…

…he had save her. Again.

A smile decorated her lips, as her eyes closed. Sleep could be a welcomed escape now.

* * *

Aha! Another chapter done. This one contains a POV with both Light and Nabaat! Yeah! Okay, now here we find out a few more things about what has been happening lately...Nabaat apparently is keeping secrets from her boss, and Light is keeping secrets from us and the auidience. That dream sequence is very important, though! Just to point it out...

Anyway, next chapter is still on the works, and more things need to get moving before we reach an end to Light's story and start with Cloud's! Also, if you are wondering what the bird looked like, check this FF wikia out: http:/finalfantasy (dot) wikia(dot) com/wiki/Cockatrice_%28Summon%29. I was looking for birdlike enemies and he turned up.

Well...hope you all enjoy this chapter and be kind to leave a review.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	7. Captain, Sergeant, Light

_"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."_

**-Unknown

* * *

**

**-Chapter Six-**

**-Captain, Sergeant, Light-

* * *

**

It had been that gut-wrenching scream that had shaken Thudar out of his bout with unconsciousness. One minute, he was lying in the sofa of Cid Highwind's home, and the next, he was ready to run upstairs where Lightning was currently residing. He was stopped midway through the stairs by Cid's wife, Shera, who told him she would take care of it.

"It's probably a nightmare…acting out with the fever she got on the way here," she explained, as the screams lowered in intensity. "You go back down and heal those bruises, I'll make sure she's okay." Before Thudar could blink, he was back in the sofa, with Shera gone to console the other woman, whose screaming had stopped. Seconds later, a hot cup of tea almost hit him in the face; a blonde man with a toothpick in his mouth was its wielder.

"Here, take the goddamn tea," he said. The younger man took it all to gladly, relief feeling him for a few seconds as the tea hit his tongue. It was good. "Shera's pretty damn good with tea…may not take the pain away, but hell does it leave you wanting more!" The blonde man held a cup of tea of his own, grinning. "She'll make ya a fan."

"Thanks…uh…for the tea…and for…"

"Providing you some food and a roof? Don't worry about it! Farron's an old friend of mine, she's welcome here anytime." The man took a sip from his tea, before he frowned. "Couldn't actually believe what I heard on the news about her, though," he glanced upstairs, where his wife was probably comforting the younger woman. "Farron's like a little kitten…wouldn't hurt a fly." At that, Thudar raised an eyebrow at him.

…_so, she doesn't hurt flies, but kills giant birds with her bare hands and shots soldiers to kill…okay, not the right thing to be saying about the person that saved your ass, Thudar…_

The man noticed the look Thudar was giving him, and chuckled. "Of course, the flies I'm talkin' bout aren't necessarily real. She's a good kid…but, with her reputation, I'm surprised you bothered to save her."

"So? She's a PSICOM…well, was, a PSICOM Captain…that organization isn't necessarily known as the most humane of them all." Thudar pointed out, taking a sip from his tea. "No one likes them."

"Yeah…but, her _reputation _is a different gig altogether…I'm surprised she put up with all those lies." The younger man looked at the other oddly, a look of confusion on his face.

_...what's he talkin' about? Reputation? Lies? _

Before he could inquire more about this 'lies' and Lightning's 'bad reputation', Shera made her presence known. "Well, she is fine…still bruised, but otherwise fine," she answered the unasked question that lingered on both men's eyes. "I just came down to bring the girl some tea."

"So, she's okay?" Thudar asked, his previous questions about the Captain's reputation and the lies all but gone in favor for her well-being. When Shera nodded, Thudar let go of the breath he was unknowingly holding. She was alright, he could stop worrying now.

"There is something that worries me, though," Shera began, getting a look of panic from Thudar and a look of surprise from the older man. "...she seems to have…a scar of sorts in her chest…" She said, as she grabbed a mug and filled it with tea from a nearby teapot. "…it is quite old, so no need to worry about it." Both men only sighed.

"Probably a soldier's scar from her army girl days," the man said, finishing his tea up, before setting the cup down, and playing with his toothpick. "Why the worry, then?"

"…It's not a scar one gets from a bullet, Cid," the woman went on; the mug in her hand already filled with tea. "I don't know how she got it…but, she was whispering to someone to 'not kill her', when I went to check on her." Shera shuddered at the memory from what appeared to be Lightning begging for her life.

"…" Cid could only sit there, his toothpick all but forgotten in one hand, as Thudar looked up, where he supposed the room were Lightning rested was.

…_Lightning…

* * *

_

Yaag Rosch had many things to worry about; for starters, he was worried on how one of his only trustworthy Captains in the whole of PSICOM had turned rouge and seemingly destroyed a town and its inhabitants, not counting her soldiers, in a fit of rage.

Rosch knew that Lightning Farron wasn't that kind of person. Give her a mission, she'll do it, no questions asked. Give her an order, she'll follow it up to the last detail, no questions at all. She always made a good soldier, especially ever since she had been a sergeant, and that was before his predecessor, Basch Ronsenburg, set his eyes on her. She had been doing a good job for the last seven years, ever since she joined PSICOM at a mere sixteen years of age; she had never been on the top of the class, but was just in between Rosch and a few other, now Colonels, themselves. Her Captain had always commented on her abilities to the higher-ups in hopes on raising her rank, unfortunately, being one of the few women in PSICOM and a minority in all, his comments were ignored. A few, like Basch, had actually noticed; after a brutal mission left her the only survivor, enough had been enough, and her rank of sergeant was awarded. Soon, she raised the ranks once more, before becoming a Captain…the only Captain that had more bad publicity than they had blood in their hands.

No one knew exactly how Farron put up with it, not even Rosch.

It had all started with the alleged killings of innocents in Bodhum, the Captain's hometown. Many times, brawls between the terrorist group, AVALANCHE and PSICOM were normal; some arrests, no deaths, that's how it was. Sometimes PSICOM would win, sometimes AVALANCHE would get away…but, five years before, everything changed. One of the many chemical plants that Shinra owned in Bodhum exploded, killing thousands of workers and those that lived close-by. According to some sources, AVALANCHE was to blame, unfortunately for PSICOM, the citizens never believed that story, and began going against them just for the heck of it. Corrupt officials soon went behind Basch's back to inflict their own kind of justice on AVALANCHE and on Cocoon's citizens, and that's where Lightning came in. She had, according to several reports, ordered the execution of a couple of hundred people that were AVALANCHE members, or affiliated with them, not counting the supposed innocents involved in the shootings. What disturbed Rosch more was the fact that many of the bodies were burned in order to hide any evidence of their deaths…it was just a mere five months before a valiant group of reporters had released the 'real' news on those killings. Farron had been to prime suspect, but with no evidence, and half of the PSICOM board and Sanctum, Cocoon's government, backing up her actions, she was pardoned.

No one, not even Rosch himself, knew the real details, but apparently Farron's life had been particularly hell after those events. Her house was broken into once, her sister, the one he had heard she had taken care of since their parents died, left her just two years ago to live with her boyfriend, said boyfriend hated her for the pain Farron had caused…and finally, the destruction of Villa Town.

Despite her heartless nature, somewhere in the back of Yaag Rosch's mind told him that this was wrong. Farron was known for her ruthlessness, yes, that much was true, but she didn't just decide one day to blow up a whole town out of spite. She always had his back during board meetings, always willing to obey his every order no matter how harsh it would be…and then, this happens. All that trust went out the window, and he knew it. He had seen the sour amusement in Nabaat's face when he asked her to bring Farron alive; he had not been amused.

He needed to find answers, he needed to ask questions that probably wouldn't get answered…he wanted to know why Farron was doing what she was doing. What drove her now? Death? Repentance? Rage?

It was just so many questions and so little answers…

* * *

"You know, for a 'little kitten' you sure have a lot of energy…" Thudar commented dryly, as he watched the Captain practice with an old gunblade that could easily pass off as her old one that had been destroyed by Zack in Headstone.

"…Cute." Lightning murmured, as she continued with her training; she went from gun, to sword mode simultaneously, then, slashed and cut at the air. Thudar watched as she went on with her exercise.

It had only been two days since coming to Rocket Town, and the young captain was already up and running. Shera, for her part, had argued with the younger woman to take it easy for a few days; sure, her bruises didn't hurt anymore, but that didn't mean she was healed. Her worry had forced(with a grimace, Thudar recalled), Lightning to promise Shera to take it easy for a few days, until Cid could get the airship ready for them to leave. No mention was made about the scar that Cid's wife had mention two days earlier, and from the looks of things, the captain wasn't willing to spill her heart out to Thudar even if he asked. He had, receiving a straightforward answer, 'I was caught by the enemy,' and then Thudar had decided to drop the issue, but even Lightning could tell it still bothered him, so she assured him by saying that she had gotten over it a long time ago…she still had an occasional nightmare or two, but she was fine. Still, Thudar had tried to get her to talk about it, but she kept silent.

"…what? I'm just repeating what Cid said," Thudar defended, as he heard the captain's tone. "I guess he forgot to mention that this kitten had claws."

"…Flattery doesn't work on me."

"Okay, fine….not gonna bother," he fought back, a grin on his face. "Seriously though, you should listen to Shera more often…she's worried."

"I'm fine." Lightning replied, putting the old gunblade in her leather case, before walking towards where Thudar stood. "I've been through worse."

"…"

Both stood there, watching as the sun set, before a large shadow fell above them. Lightning was quick to grab her gunblade, before a loud, booming voice stopped her:

"**Now, now, Farron! Keep that blade on your hips!" **Cid's voice cried over a loudspeaker. **"I brought the ride! Now, get the fuck in!" **Just above them, flying low, was a giant airship, the size of two large houses, with Cid and Shera watching them from a window in one of the airship's visible decks. A long rope fell in front of them, with Cid yelling out, **"Climb up!" **

Thudar and Lightning just looked at each other, before taking the man's advice, climbing as fast as they could towards the airship.

_Up to Edge we go…_Thudar thought, as he followed Lightning up the rope.

* * *

More back story. Okay, so now, we get more information about Light and the reason for certain hate, in the earlier chapters against her person...this is going to show up eventually...but, we will finally reach the 'lies' in all of this when Cloud shows up later on.

Anyway, I'm not particularly proud how this chapter went on...but, well, I had no other choice. More references to Light's nightmare and an accident that involved her and her squadron...I will eventually explain all of this until later chapters...but, it will take a while for that to happen, so for now, enjoy. And yes, Light gets a weapon. Yeah...too bad the action ends for a while.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	8. Welcome back, Opportunity

_Nature creates ability; luck provides it with opportunity._

**- Francois de La Rochefoucauld

* * *

**

**-Chapter Seven- **

**-Welcome back, Opportunity-

* * *

**

…_This is going to be too easy, _the boy thought, smirking. Above him, the skies of Rocket Town darkened, as the Highwind hovered above them. People around him, too, took notice of the airship as it hovered; adults easily shrugged off the giant metal beast, but children were quick to grab on their parents' hands and point excitedly at the airship, talking a mile a minute, with no chance of stopping anytime soon.

"Whoa, I've never seen an airship that big before!" The boy's companion cried, clapping her hands together. "Our ride?" she asked on the side to her friend, who only nodded in response.

"Our ride," he confirmed, pointing at the rope that dangled uselessly from the airship itself.

"They must have been in a hurry to leave that just…hanging there, huh?" the girl asked again, putting a delicate finger in her chin. "Lucky us!" she said, moments later.

"…Hmm…we better get moving, though," the boy pointed out, looking behind him. A group of vehicles were making their way towards Rocket Town and the airship. If they didn't hurry, they would miss the ride. He grabbed his companion's hand. "Come on, the faster we do this, the better for us."

* * *

"Would it had been too much to ask for you to actually land this thing instead of sending a rope to get us up?" Thudar complained, as he lay down on a chair in the makeshift kitchen near the control room, with Shera and Lightning sitting nearby, both holding a mug of tea in their hands.

"Aah, what's the matter? Little kid can't take a little rope climbing?" Cid called from his place in the control room.

"…not that, actually. It's the fact that we had to climb a rope when it would have been so much easier for you to land this thing in the first place," the younger man shot back, rubbing his left arm unconsciously, remains of his rope climbing exercise minutes prior.

"Well, too bad. This thing takes minutes to lift off, ya know?" Cid cried, his tone showing no signs of guilt. "It's not some bike you can just step on and run…this shit takes time to move around."

"...Cid does have a point," Shera pointed out, taking a sip from her tea as she looked back at her husband in the control room. "since this is the first time we are trying the airship, we need to take it easy."

"What?" Thudar asked, shock written all over his face as he turned to stare back at Cid. "You just built this thing and you're barely starting it up! What happened to the flying tests?"

"This is flying test," the blonde man laughed. "I was itching to try this baby for months, now."

"What?" came Thudar again, sending a look of indignation Lightning's way. "Is he crazy?"

"Apparently not," she said, not bothered by the talk at all.

"How is that this doesn't bother you?" A shrug.

"Cid knows what he's doing." Shera nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry too much, boy," she chided, getting up to serve herself another cup of tea. "I trust Cid with my life…he'll have a hard time crashing the Highwind, if you ask me," Shera added with a small laugh.

"Not making me feel better for some reason…" Thudar muttered, glancing at Cid with a doubtful look in his eyes.

"You worry too much," Lightning said, facing him with that stoic expression of hers that Thudar had become accustom to.

"Well, yeah, he's barely trying this thing out! Wouldn't you be worried?" Lightning gave him a small smile, as if assuring him,

"I wouldn't have suggested Cid if I didn't trust him, wouldn't I?"

"…I suppose…but, that still doesn't stop me fr-"

"SHIT!"

The sudden bark from Cid caused both Thudar and Lightning to get up from their seats in alarm, with the man's wife almost dropping the teapot she was holding.

"Cid?" she asked timidly, a certain fear masking her voice.

"Farron, we got a big problem!" Cid yelled. "Get yer ass in here, now!" The captain didn't need to be told twice as she made her way towards the engineer, Shera and Thudar not too far behind. From the control room's large windows, facing down to the ground, Thudar finally saw what had caused Cid's distress. A large squadron of PSICOM soldiers were just below them, a few pointing rifles at them, with one, Thudar supposed was the leader, was making hand signs at Cid to land the Highwind.

"_**Mr. Highwind, land your airship now." **_Came cry from the radio nearby, and the younger man assumed that the PSICOM unit had found a way to hack into the airship's communication systems. _**"If you don't it, I will be forced to shoot down your airship. Repeat. Land your airship, Mr. Highwind, or we will shoot." **_ Everyone was silent as Cid debated what to do. Sure the airship could hold a bullet or two, but from the sound of things, the PSICOM unit didn't seem stupid enough to just hit an airship with mere bullets. Thudar couldn't tell for sure, but from the looks of things, he wouldn't put it past them to carry a bazooka just for occasions like this.

"Can't fly with them PSICOM fellas there," Cid commented in a defeated tone as he looked back at Lightning. "…sorry, but this bird is a no go."

…_they got us now…_Thudar thought dryly, as he watched the captain and Cid exchange glances. Despite not understanding the facial expression she had, her eyes said a different story; thanks for trying, they said.

"I'm afraid it will have to go, sir," spoke a voice from behind them, catching them all by surprise. Lightning tightened her gunblade, only to hear the click of a gun.

Looking behind them, the group spotted two people, both younger than the rest of them. A brown, almost blonde haired boy held a small gun at them, a small smile in his face. Next to him, a girl with blonde hair backed him up with a small rifle. Despite being armed, however, Thudar knew that the captain was just too far away to make a move, and so they were left at the mercy of the two gun-wielding youngsters.

"_**Who's there?" **_the PSICOM soldier asked; apparently he had made sure the radio could pick up the conversation on the airship.

"Like I said," the boy went on, completely ignoring the PSICOM. "this bird will have to go. We are in a bit of a hurry." Cid only looked at the boy for what seemed to be a long minute, before he turned back to face the radio.

"Oh…well," he said. "Sorry, getting kidnapped, gotta go."

"_**WHAT? What are you saying?" **_Cid only grinned, as he pushed a couple of buttons and the airship soon began to go higher and higher.

"Well, just between you and me, his gun is closer than yours. Bye-bye!"

"_**WAIT! STO-"**_ But it was already too late, the airship was just too high up for any normal mortal to reach, and everyone inside knew that the PSICOM had their hands tied. Because you just don't shoot an airship that just got kidnapped.

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

_This has to be the strangest kidnapping, ever…_Thudar thought, as he watched one of his kidnappers chat happily with Shera, as both shared a cup of tea, meanwhile the boy, had a hand on his forehead, shaking his head in amusement.

"…they forgot the point of all this," he commented, and Thudar couldn't have agreed more. Sure, he supposed he should be expecting threats right about now, but instead, all he got was baffled faces in return, as Cid thanked them for doing what they did. Soon, Shera had offered them both tea, and now, the girl, whose name he had learned was Penelo, had been chatting nonstop with the older woman, while Vaan, the boy, could only sit there and sigh. He really hadn't been expecting this, either. For her part, Lightning just shrugged, as she took a seat next to Thudar, glancing at Vaan from the corner of her eye.

"We needed to get out of there, anyway."

"Yeah, I can tell." Vaan commented dryly. "But…everyone here is completely missing the point." Thudar couldn't agree more, then. Turning towards the captain, he gave her a look.

"…Is there anyone around here that actually understands we just got kidnapped?" he asked her. Lightning just laughed, surprising him, before she said with a smile,

"Apparently, both of you do."

And he left it at that, not even noticing his cheeks had gone red as a result. Yep, conversations with the captain were always straight to the point.

* * *

On the outskirts of Rocket Town, a lone SOLDIER watched from a pair of binoculars as the Highwind made its escape, a small smirk on his face. "So, how is that an experienced PSICOM Captain that's more dangerous than a storm itself, get kidnapped by a pair of kids, again?" Zack asked, a smile on his lips, as he watched the PSICOM soldiers argue amongst each other on what they should do now. He had heard the conversation from his own radio, and felt rather bad for the soldiers, who had been given strict others of only to bring Captain Farron in, orders that had been given by the Lt. Colonel of PSICOM himself.

…_Hmm…maybe he actually thought that pretty lady would attack me, and ordered the force out of necessity not just because. _Zack thought, as he continued to watch the Highwind disappear into the clouds.

"…Lucky break, it seems," a voice from behind the SOLDIER spoke, but the latter didn't take his eyes off the airship even as it disappeared.

"You still haven't answered how a Captain of PSICOM gets kidnapped by a pair of kids," Zack told the voice, only receiving a smack in the head for his trouble. "Hey!"

"Knock it off, Fair," the voice, or rather, a man wearing a suit, told him. "this is no time for joking. The president made her our problem as much as PSICOM's made it theirs. Find and eliminate." Zack raised an eyebrow at his friend, as he finally stopped looking into the binoculars and shot his friend a serious look.

"…are you saying…the president wants her head off?"

"That's what I'm saying."

"…did she do something we don't know about yet, Tseng?"

"I don't know, and frankly, I could say I don't like it, but it concerns me," the man in the suit, Tseng, told him. "Rufus Shinra isn't the kind of man I like having as my boss, but a job is a job, Zack…just do it…and keep your wits about you, you'll need them with Farron." He turned to walk away, leaving Zack alone as he stared back at the place where the Highwind once was, hearing as an helicopter took off and left the scene in the background.

Something was going on, and frankly, Zack didn't like it. He wasn't the sort of guy to kill just because the job asked for it, sure, he had actually killed a few times before, but that had been self-defense…and now, he had to chase a pretty lady accused of blowing of a town from the face of the earth and then, kill her.

He could only stare as the sun began setting in, thinking, _Tell me, love, what do you think I should do? _Zack thought, as the sun hid behind a few mountains in the distance, as the night made itself known. Only silence was his answer.

"Yeah, I don't know, either."

* * *

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	9. Breaking the Crystal Barrier

"_The past is our definition. We may strive, with good reason, to escape it, or to escape what is bad in it, but we will escape it only by adding something better to it."_

-**Unknown

* * *

**

**-Chapter Eight-**

**-Breaking the Crystal Barrier-

* * *

**

_It was so…so red. So much pain…so much crying…She couldn't feel the tears, but she knew she was crying…she was crying and seeing red and she didn't know why. She didn't understand why she was feeling like this…why, when all she could feel was pain and anger? _

_She didn't know how all this had begun…she only knew that she was in pain and she needed to retain those simple feelings of anger and pain in order to…destroy. She could hear voices, too. Unsure of their meaning, she tried reaching out to them…console them…make them console her…_

…_no. These voices that spoke in a language she could not understand could not console her. No…_

"_Da—it, woman!" a voice cried out, making her angry. "Sn…out, it!" The voice went on, increasing her anger, more and more. It was too loud! She had to stop the pain it provoked…she had to…_

"_L…light…up!" Another voice, gentle, frantic, spoke. She stopped then, seeing images beyond the red coat of pain and anger; she listened as the same words were spoken again and again, recognizing their meaning, if only a little. The red…she had to stop seeing red! She had to understand what they were telling her! _

"_I…don't know!" she cried, her voice sounding monstrous even to her ears, causing pain to her body. She cried again, a scream of agony, as she moved closer to those voices that were guiding her out of that red trance of pain and anger. But, then, the veil of red drops again, as a soothing voice fills her ears,_

"_Kill…them…" the soothing voice says, calming her pain. "Kill them…and everything will be okay…little light…" She cannot understand the meaning…but, she knows, that to feel right again, she must get rid of those other voices…she must obey that soothing voice…she must…everything made sense with those simple words…kill…kill and destroy…she will be okay as long as she did as the soothing voice ordered…_

_ She felt herself moving towards the other voices, her gaze covered in red; everything was red…everything was red…so red…so…she had to make those voices stop talking…everything will be okay if she did…if she—_

"_CLAIRE!"

* * *

_

Lightning woke up with a start; she almost jumped out of the bed in fright, as she looked around the empty and dark bedroom that had been her home in the Highwind for the past two days. She continued to breathe in and out, her heartbeat almost resonating in the darkness that consumed her…or rather, what remained of it.

The ex-captain didn't move for a while, before placing two hands over her chest, the place where she knew a scar rested. A scar that brought bitter memories and reminded her of her past deeds.

…_Damn it all…_she thought, as she got out of bed, grabbing the gunblade and her leather case, before she began to pace around the room. _…I have to get to Edge…tell…him…that they found me out…now…I can't take this…he's the only one that would listen…_Lightning found herself facing the metal door of her bedroom, before gently leaning her head against it.

"…why…why are you haunting me now…Claire?" she asked no one in particular, feeling something warm and wet hitting her cheeks. Lightning quickly wiped the culprits away, before opening the door. "I need some air."

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Tea, Vaan decided, wasn't exactly what he needed at two in the morning, but, as he filled his cup, his third in the last two hours, he thought, 'What the hell!' _At least…it is tasteful…_he inwardly thought, as he took a sip of the cup and sat down in the kitchen table, as he glanced at the large window that was overlooking the moon.

"Hmph…who would have thought that our first kidnapping attempt would end like this?" Vaan muttered, taking another sip of his tea as he recalled the events two days ago; Cid and Shera were thanking them nonstop for getting them out of that mess with the PSICOM people, at least that other fellow, Thudar, took the situation seriously and even seem weary of their two kidnappers, but let's face it, he wasn't acting as the defenseless victim, either. And then, there was Lightning. The young man narrowed his eyes at that thought.

Out of all the people that could have been on this airship, never in his mind would he thought that an infamous PSICOM Captain would be in it. At first, he didn't know what to make of Lightning Farron at first, but it didn't take a while to make the bell ring; he had heard of her. She had been accused of killing many innocents during her career, hunting down AVALANCHE like if they were sheep. He knew keeping her here would be dangerous, but he was left rather surprised when the Captain didn't try anything to hurt him nor Penelo as long as they dropped her in Edge as soon as they could reach it. But, despite the fact that she hadn't done anything at all, that didn't mean Captain Farron wasn't any less dangerous than him. The only reason neither him nor Penelo were hurt or dead after taking over the airship was because they had built a distance between the Captain and themselves. They had been lucky, but, for how long before the woman decided to kill them off, he didn't know.

_If she tries anything…I will ki—_

"What are you doing here?" he asked sharply, as Captain Farron made her way towards the kitchen, her eyes as expressionless as ever, or so Vaan assumed if only he could see them through all this darkness.

"Hello," she said, sounding uninterested and even a little tired, but he couldn't really tell the difference. "…was it your turn to keep watch?" Vaan glared at her, as she sat across from him in the table.

"Yes…I'm surprised you forgot…Captain," he said, putting the cup in the table. "And why are you up?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"Oh, really?" Vaan asked, incredulous. "And couldn't you have just stayed in your room. I don't need your company, especially not a PSICOM's company." Captain Farron didn't say anything, as she turned away from him to face and instead, to face the large window and moon that stood before them, providing the little light they could savor for the moment.

"I didn't come here to keep you company," the Captain answered after a while. "You hardly can stand my presence…what gave you the idea I wanted to keep you company?" Her tone wasn't harsh, but the chiding was still there.

"Just because Shera and her husband say I can trust you, doesn't mean I have to," he retorted, annoyed. Captain Farron didn't respond. "I know all about you, Captain," he went on, bitterly. "Everyone from Ivalice and back knows about your reputation as a killer from PSICOM." Vaan leaned on the table, and shot the Captain's back the darkest glare he could muster. "And, I warn you now, 'PSICOM Captain', you hurt Penelo, or anyone else, I will personally hunt you down, and kill you. Got it?" He watched as the Captain turned to stare at him, her face passive, like always. She gave him a nod.

"Got it." Before Vaan could respond and ask her if she was being a smart-ass, he noticed her go a little stiff all of the sudden, a certain panic filling her eyes. Then, he heard it.

It was a strange sound; as if a bird's wings were flapping nonstop, crashing against the wind in an effort to maintain their selves in the air. The noise was sharp and loud…and too close.

Both Vaan and the Captain quickly got up, before they were blinding by a white light. They blinked, before their sight returned, but by then it was already too late to stop the two men from tackling the glass and getting inside the airship, as the helicopter overlooked them.

…_Things are never too easy…

* * *

_

Finally...the new year is coming, but Christmas comes first...and well, this is an early Christmas present for all of you who read this story. I do know that this story doesnt have many reviews, but well, you can't win them all. Anyway, it has been a fun year, and well, hope you all enjoy.

Anyway, Light's journey almost ends, and here come more things about her past...however, as I have mentioned before it will take a while for all of this to surface...now, I might take a while to get Cloud's story going...as I previosly wasnt going to include him in the story...but, then I changed my mind. Anyway, this chapter isnt much, but it sets the scene for the coming chapters...hope you all enjoy.

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	10. Thunder and Lightning

_Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.__  
_

**-****Mark Twain

* * *

**

**-Chapter Nine-**

**-Thunder and Lightning-

* * *

**

Thudar sighed for what seemed the hundredth time that day. It was still dark outside, but yet he knew it was at least two or so in the morning, but even so, he couldn't sleep. He was worried about many things; from his friends back in Alexandria, how that boss of his was going to react when he figured one of his delivery services had gone kaboom, but most of all, he worried about Lightning, the young PSICOM Captain he had met a few days ago.

How his life could take a turn for the worst when he had met that Captain…how he had just come to deliver something to her…and then, Villa Town is in shambles in less than two seconds, along with his bike and his house, and his job for that matter. He had been confused, or as the captain would put it, crazy and hysterical, until, a rather hard slap brought him back to the world of the reason. The young man had been hurt, dizzy, confused; he was hurting, but he knew that pain wouldn't even compare to what Lightning had felt. She was bloody, her beautiful face ruined by that small scar, barely visible at the present but still there, she was limping, holding unto her gunblade(now broken) for support. And, all of that in just a few days. A life he thought of having was broken beyond repair after Villa blew into nothing, until its ashes and those of its people floated in the air. Now, along with Lightning, he was a wanted man, at least, Blondie wanted him dead, just as much as she wanted Lightning hitting ground and disappearing from existence. Of course, Thudar could have always blamed the captain for all of this, but he didn't. No matter how bad the first few forty-eight hours with her were like, he never once blamed her. He complained, yes, called her plans stupid, true, but never once blamed her. Everything moved so fast then…the power tug-of-war that Blondie girl had started had been too much, but even if Lightning wanted to end it, she couldn't. She was the prime suspect for Villa's explosion, and then, Vaan came.

At first, Thudar didn't know what to think about his accusations about Lightning being a killer, the Blood Captain, as he had mockingly called her. He had heard of the name before, it was an on-and-off name the people of half of the country of Ivalice, all of Gaia**(1)**, and a few other countries knew about. PSICOM was well-known for its rather harsh and rash military decisions and effectiveness in cleansing conflicts; many activists, outlaws, and even innocents had fallen by their hand, but no one could compare to the Blood Captain. This PSICOM Captain was known among the world as a cold-blooded killer, killing innocents and anyone that stood on PSICOM's way. The rumors that sprouted from the mouths of many who heard or even saw of this Captain were quite an earful, and even Thudar had to embarrassingly admit that stories he heard about this Blood Captain where enough to give him nightmares. And then, he unknowingly met her. He met the real Blood Captain in person, and the only thing he had done was complain and call her crazy, and he was still living. And yet, Vaan was telling him that Lightning Farron was a monster, when all she had done during the journey was take care of him, protect him from possible death, when her job was to give him a swift death as possible.

Thudar groaned, burying his face under a pillow, in an effort to contain his emotions. Anger, fear, and even a little disgust, had surface when Vaan had revealed to all who Lightning Farron really was, even Penelo had seemed visibly frightened, and Thudar himself could not deny the shock and fear that was present on his face when Lightning had not said anything to defend herself. She had just stood there, in silence, as all these accusations were thrown at her face. Thudar didn't know what to think, sure he had been unfamiliar with PSICOM until that business with Villa Town and he didn't know anyone there, either, and then, to know he had been wondering with the most feared, most hated Captain in all of PSICOM had been beyond preposterous. He had been traveling with a murderer, heck! he had even saved her once, and she had thanked him. He had saved someone that wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on a group of innocents if she had been ordered to; some part of his mind, then, thought that he saw the reasoning behind Blondie's attack, but he squashed that thought, destroying the whole town and everyone in it, wasn't the answer.

He really couldn't describe his feelings during that time. He was angry, angry at her, angry at the accusations, angry over the fact that she hadn't denied them. He was hurt over the fact that he had possibly saved a murderer, a person beyond redemption. And then, Cid and his wife stepped in.

Lies, Cid had cried back. He had said it loud, and angry, a little bit at the captain for not defending himself and most on Vaan, who was accusing her with a gun in his hand. "Those are just lies! You kids no nothin' about anything! What would a bunch of words be worth if ya can't prove 'em, huh? WHAT!" And, then, just as soon as the anger came, it was gone. Rumors, he had believed them at the drop of a hat over what Lightning had done for him. To say Thudar felt ashamed, it was understatement. He felt like the bad guy, now, pinning Lightning with the blame that probably didn't belong to her, taking Vaan's words before her own actions during their time together. Lightning didn't seem upset over this, but, maybe she was…or maybe not. Perhaps she had expected Thudar to find out eventually about those rumors and thought nothing of it.

Vaan, however, still wanted to put the captain out of his misery, but Penelo, won over by Cid's words, put a leash on him. That had stopped any senseless fighting, and the young woman had quickly made her escape. She was mostly, since the past two days, stuck in her room, only coming out to eat and train in the shooting range on the Highwind's lower decks. At first, Thudar had assumed that the captain was angry at him, but then, after the second day, he finally notice Penelo release a sigh of relief after Lightning made a hasty retreat back to her room. It had not been because of him, but for Penelo's sake. She was still dangling over the rope, debating on which side of the net she should fall. The girl wanted to believe Shera and Cid, but she didn't want to discard Vaan's words so easily, either. He, too, seemed to be dangling over a rope too, and he had fallen so many damn times now.

"…I…I have to apologize," he muttered, to no one in particular, listening to the silence of the night. He needed to apologize for taking the kid's words as truths and her protection as lies. It was only the right thi—

**CRASSSHHHHHHHH! **

"What the hell?" Thudar cried, sprinted from off his bed as possible and going towards the door. He was in the hall, and met face to face with Cid, his wife, and Penelo. Apparently, the loud noise had been enough to disrupt their sleep quite well.

"What the fuck was that!" Cid cried, as he moved to the move next to Thudar's, only to stop short as he noticed the door was opened. "Oh…fuck no…"

"What?" Penelo asked, looking at Lightning's open door, her eyes flashing with worry that didn't go unnoticed.

"FUCK THIS!" Cid cried, slamming both fists on the wall nearby. "If those two are fightin' and messing my fucking ship, I will personally kick both their asses!" Before Thudar and the women knew what was happening, Cid made a mad dash towards the control deck. The others only glanced at each other briefly, before Thudar and Shera moved to catch him, Penelo only went back to her room, coming back briefly with her beloved rifle and following them seconds later.

* * *

Lightning didn't know what to think as she saw Zack once more, his face somber, his hand tightening against that large blade behind his back. His companion, however, was eager to finish this as quickly as possible, as he held the blade's hilt, tightly. She was already with her weapon out, the gunblade already in sword mode, with her eyes glancing behind the two SOLDIERs, seeing the helicopter still there, with a woman holding a machine gun, and two others handling the helicopter itself.

"You, again," Lightning began, getting a nod from Zack as he silently took out his sword, with his companion not too far behind.

"Yeah, pretty captain…I'm afraid I'm here to finish business," he gave her the coldest look she assumed this SOLDIER was capable of. "permanently." As soon as those words left his mouth, Zack moved towards the captain, sword up, the other SOLDIER not too far behind. She noticed Vaan tense up beside her, but that didn't stop him from shooting at the other SOLDIER, meanwhile Lightning herself dodged only for Zack to quickly try to cut her horizontally with his sword, but the captain ducked. She gave Zack a small uppercut, before back flipping away from him and his sword. "Ouch, that hurt." Zack commented dryly, before trying to cut her again. Lightning dodged, and watch with a certain dismay that he had sliced a nearby control panel in two.

…_Cid is going to be so pissed…_she thought, as she and Zack clashed their two blades. Lightning glanced behind her and noticed Vaan having trouble dodging the other SOLDIER's blows, already an arm bloody, and his shooting getting clumsier and clumsier by the minute. _Damn it! _She looked back at Zack, who still kept his sword pressured against her gunblade, but she knew she had to work fast. She had to make sure that other SOLDIER didn't kill the boy.

Zack didn't know what him hit him, when suddenly, Lightning was busy struggling against his sword, before sending a kick straight at his head. The hit left the SOLDIER a little disoriented, but it was enough for Lightning to leave him behind, and go after Vaan and the other SOLDIER. She jumped over the boy, who only gave a gasp of surprise, as her sword tackled with the other SOLDIER's own.

"DAMN!" the SOLDIER yelled, before getting sent to his knees by the captain's strength. "Zack wasn't lying about ya!" Lightning only cocked an eyebrow, before applying more pressure to the sword, and sending it flying away from the SOLDIER's hands. "SHIT!"

"KUNSEL!" Before Lightning knew it, Zack was upon her again, tackling her to the ground, before cutting her arm only slightly, before she could recover her balance. Vaan was besides her, far away from the two SOLDIERs, with one looking at her menacingly, and the other looking back through that helmet of his. Zack and Lightning glared at each other as they s—

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?"

Lighting and Vaan froze along with the two SOLDIERs when Cid's shout shook the deck. They were quick to spot the group, with Cid at the front, and Penelo covering the rear with her rifle. The group stopped short, however, when they spotted the two SOLDIERs nearby. No one said anything, just stared…and then, it happened.

The woman in the helicopter began shooting at the captain and Vaan, forcing them to seek cover. Both Zack and that Kunsel fellow, also found cover as well, but by the time Cid and the others took notice, a loud cry caught their ears.

"SHERA!"

Lightning quickly switched the gunblade to gun mode, and got out of her cover. She pointed, and shot.

* * *

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! Well, I managed to get this down in a fit of inspiration today so I thought I would give it to you dear readers as a present! Haha! I had fun writing this chapter, despite a few setbacks. Anyway, this chapter adds a little to what happened when Vaan found out about Light...I just wanted to give more information and on Thudar's feelings on that matter. Anyway, this chapter ends in a cliffhanger! But, dont worry, I will try to give you a chapter by next week at the earliest. I'm just waiting to start on Cloud's story, seeing as I finally managed to fix his part just right...

Anyway, merry christmas or whatever you might be celebrating this day! See you!

**SOME THINGS TO POINT OUT!: **

**1-Name of the Planet in FFVII or rather its second name. Right now, our characters are in Gaia or Planet, but our next tale of this story starts in Ivalice; those two countries are rather important right now.  
**

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	11. Evaporation

_Many live in dread of what is coming. Why should we? The unknown puts adventure into life … The unexpected around the corner gives a sense of anticipation and surprise. Thank God for the unknown future._

**-E. Stanley Jones

* * *

**

**-Chapter Ten-**

**-Evaporation-

* * *

**

_Damn that crazy woman! _Zack thought, as he and his friend, Kunsel, dodged a few bullets sent by one of their allies as they finally found cover behind a few control panels the size of refrigerators.

"You would think this Turks would know anything about aiming, huh?" Kunsel asked, sounding annoyed. For his part, Zack couldn't disagree with his fellow SOLDIER, but, unfortunately, this three newbies were the only ones Shinra had supplied for this little trip, saying that he couldn't spare experienced Turks to help out. "She's shooting like she's drunk!" the other SOLDIER went on, pointing at the woman in the helicopter, who tried in vain to shoot the PSICOM Captain and the boy with her, not counting the people that had barged into their fight e—

"SHERA!"

"Shit…" Zack murmured, as he saw one of the stray bullets catch the woman, Shera, he assumed, in the arm. She fell fast, but was caught by the blonde haired man, before both took cover. Unfortunately, that was enough for the PSICOM Captain to get out of hiding. She had her gunblade in gun mode, but Zack knew it was already too late to do anything; she would shoot, and she would hit the target.

As fast as the bullets came, they stopped, with the woman in the helicopter catching the gunblade's bullet into the chest; she collapsed to the ground even as one of the men with her cried out her name.

"She got Joyce!" Kunsel cried out, but Zack wasn't listening. He was already running towards the Captain, his sword up, ready for the kill. Zack wasn't the type of man to attack a person behind their back, but this wasn't any normal person. He had to eliminate her and avoid anymore deat—

"LIGHTNING!"

Before Zack knew what was happening, he was tackled from his side, tripping on his feet, with the perpetrator falling on top of him. Their eyes met; the guy with the motorcycle. It was him.

The SOLDIER quickly returned the gesture with a straight punch into the other man's jaw, only to almost have his hand sliced off by the Captain, who came to the man's rescue. Zack rolled out of the way, before getting up. Kunsel already joining him as the woman helped the motorcycle guy to his feet. She glared back at both SOLDIERs, but seconds later, her glare softened into a panicked glance. Zack noticed her panic first, but was unsure of its meaning. That is until the blonde man cried out,

"THOSE FUCKIN' ASSHOLES HAVE A BAZOOKA! GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE, YOU TWO!"

Zack and Kunsel could only look back at the Turk that was holding the bazooka inside the helicopter, the body of his death teammate by his feet. The weapon was pointing straight at the deck the SOLDIERS, Captain, and the civilians were standing on.

"He's not gonna…" Kunsel began, only for Zack to quickly correct him.

"He's gonna."

And he did.

* * *

Thudar and Lightning ran as fast as they could through the hallway, the SOLDIERs not too far behind. He knew that on the other side of the Highwind, Cid and the others were running as well; they had barely made it out alive of the main deck after that crazy guy with the bazooka destroyed it. While Thudar knew, and Cid had even admitted, that the Highwind wouldn't be simply destroyed with one projectile from a rocket launcher, if the main deck was shot down, the Highwind would fall. Literally. He could barely feel the airship swaying, and when another explosion sounded in the background, Thudar knew that the Highwind wouldn't last long in the air.

"Ross is an ass!" He heard one of the SOLDIERs yell out to his friend as both followed the pair to the back of the ship. If Thudar's jaw didn't hurt like hell, he would have agreed. "He wants to take us down with the whole damn airship!"

"Yeah, I'm glad you noticed," the other SOLDIER, Zack, commented dryly.

"Haha! Thanks for the sarcasm, Zack!"

More background noise sounded; explosions rocked the ship, causing the small group to trip over, as the airship bended down. The floor squeaked and cracked. More explosions sounded in the background, as more metal broke.

"Damn!" Thudar cried out through bloody teeth, as the ground below them opened up. Another explosions caught them by surprise, and both SOLDIERs were forced to grab unto discarded metal for dear life. The other man, too, would have been joining them, had not Lightning grabbed unto his arm herself, as she grabbed another piece of discarded metal.

"Damn that asshole!" the SOLDIER cried out, glancing down. Thudar looked down as well, and noticed that they were approaching land fast. Very fast.

"It's a freefall from here and out!" Lightning cried, catching Thudar's attention. "Hold on!" Thudar didn't need to be told twice as the airship plummeted down to the ground below, and both him and the ex-captain held unto each other. They waited for the impact to come; would they live or would they all die?

**0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0**

Nabaat only grinned as she saw the giant airship going down, the explosions acting like fireworks in a parade. _…Oh…poor Lightning…it seems to have finally struck…_she thought to herself, as she grabbed a pair of binoculars, and watched the show; the Highwind had finally crashed, sending a cloud of dust everywhere, clouding Nabaat's vision for a little while. The dust only remained in the air a few seconds, before finally breaking out, leaving in its wake a burning airship, destroyed beyond repair. _…good-bye…Lightning. _

"Major Nabaat!" Nabaat turned to the young PSICOM soldier, as she put down the binoculars.

"Yes?"

"We have spotted Captain Farron and a few survivors, ma'am!" The woman could only stand there, digesting the facts. Lightning was still alive…no…just no! She grabbed her discarded binoculars again, and sure enough, she could see people coming out of the wreckage of the airship. They were worse for wear, but otherwise alive. Nabaat narrowed her eyes, and threw the binoculars to the side, before glaring at her subordinate.

"Give me a sniper rifle…now."

"Yes, ma'am!" The soldier quickly disappeared into the crowd of other PSICOM soldiers, looking for the mentioned weapon.

_If you are not going down now, Lightning…I will take you down myself…_

* * *

Thudar could barely stand up, his body covered in bloody scratches and his jaw was hurting like hell. He could barely see anything in the smoke that surrounded them. He couldn't see Lightning, nor those two SOLDIERs—ah! Coughing! That way!

He turned to the side, and sure enough, the captain was nearby, kneeling and coughing out dust, her condition no better than his own. Thudar tried walking towards her, but every step he took hurt. "Ouch…" he whimpered, catching Lightning's attention.

"You-cough!-okay?"

"Yeah….if you call okay surviving a crash…then, yeah…ouch…" Thudar replied, earning a small smile from the captain. Her smile died in her lips, however, when she suddenly got up, and looked around. Thudar, too, looked up, only remembering that there were others with them.

"CID!" Lightning cried over the smoke. Both of them waited for an answer, with Thudar holding his breath for both of them.

"We're okay!" came Penelo's voice seconds later, accompanied by Cid's own.

"You owe me a fuckin' new airship, Farron!" he cried out, making Lightning and Thudar sigh in relief. "I want one of those really badass ones, too, eh, you crazy woman! With all the fuckin' shit in it! A pool, too, damn it!" Thudar couldn't help but laugh at the foolishness of all that, but then again, neither could Lightning. He watched as she stood there, listening to Cid's complaints, a smile on her face.

…_damn…it…she looks…kinda nice…_he thought, with a blush. He turned away before his ears perked up. Someone was coming…the SOLDIERs! Apparently, Lightning had also heard the noise, but she was too late to stop its effect. Before Thudar could even utter a warning, Zack came from besides him, running towards Lightning, that giant sword of his in for the kill. The captain managed to dodge the sword, with Thudar wondering why the woman wasn't using her gunblade, then smacked himself mentally in the head, remembering how the gunblade had fallen from the captain's grasp back at the destroyed deck as she led Thudar out of it. He ran to the woman's aid without a second thought, but a swift kick from Zack in the stomach sent him to his knees.

Both SOLDIER and captain stared at each other, before Zack gave her, what appeared to be, a sad smile. "Sorry, Farron…but, I really have to take you down." He ran towards her, Lightning ready to stop his attack, only for the sound of shooting catching both their ears. Neither saw it coming, but by the time Zack managed to place a well-aimed cut on her stomach, the captain fell to her knees, a small bullet hole on the left side of her chest. Lightning could barely breath, as the blood fell to the hard floor.

"Light!" Thudar cried out, trying to get up to help her, only to stop short when Zack turned to face him, or rather what was behind him. The other man followed his example, and watched, with a look of disbelief as the helicopter that had merrily taken down the Highwind was shot off the sky in an explosion of fireworks and smoke. Thudar could barely hear the cries of disbelief and horror from the other side of the wreckage, as another thing caught his attention.

It was a group of PSICOM soldiers, with Jihl Nabaat leading them. On her hand she held a rather long sniper rifle, her face serious and taunting. Zack and Thudar could only stand there in disbelief, as Nabaat called to her men, "FIRE!" Both Thudar and Zack barely reacted as the rain of bullets was upon them; Thudar made to help the struggling Lightning to safety, but was shocked when the SOLDIER Zack came to her aid. He hid her behind some broken wall of the airship, before he made a long jump, catching the PSICOM soldiers by surprise. Thudar only watched in awe as the SOLDIER landed right in front the PSICOM, evading bullet after bullet, as he cut them all down.

"IF YOU THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH THIS I WON'T LET YOU, MAJOR NABAAT!" Zack cried out, as he ran towards her, sword up, ready to end this fight once and for all. Nabaat only looked back at him as she disappeared into the crowd of PSICOM soldiers.

"You're only human…" she muttered and she was gone.

Thudar could only stay there, unsure of what to do or say, as he watched Zack cut soldier after soldier. He received a few bullets here and there, but still he didn't stop his carnage. For his part, Thudar heard groaning from nearby, and watched in surprise, as the other SOLDIER came out of the wreckage nearby Lightning herself. He was weak, and his helmet had broken in places but otherwise was intact on his head. Thudar, too, could hear yells from the other side, Cid and Penelo desperately trying to find out who was shooting, with Vaan and Shera crying out if they were alright. And Lightning just lay there, breathing hard and deep, barely breathing at all, as the blood continued to pour from her wounds.

_I have to help her…and get the hell out of here! _he thought, as he tried standing up. He barely made it up, before he heard moaning from the captain. Her eyes were opened, looking around in a daze. She spotted Thudar standing nearby, her ears never catching unto the carnage that was taking place a few feet away from her. Thudar walked towards her with sluggish steps, his whole body aching for the effort. Still, behind him, Zack fought on, but already Thudar could smell the blood and gunpowder in the distance. Not really seeing only knowing that the SOLDIER, despite all of his power, would not survive.

"…Light…Light…" he whispered, finally falling to his knees beside her; more shouts from the PSICOM soldiers behind him, following the bullets in a never ending parade.

"Thudar…I can't…" she began, only to shake her head. "Listen…I…I need…you to do me a favor…"

"Not now…captain…you're bleeding!" Thudar protested, only for the woman to shake off the help, as her eyes wondered to the fallen SOLDIER nearby. She closed her eyes slowly, and spoke,

"…find…find Barret Wallace…please…and…and tell him that Claire fell down…." Thudar only stayed there, listening to her plea, his pained mind confused on why some 'Claire' would have fallen down.

"What….what are you talking abou—Argh!" Thudar felt something sharp and hot hit his back, forcing him to fall over the already weakened captain. The man tried getting up, but the pain was unbearable, plus, someone had a gun on his head.

People were walking towards them now, the sound of shooting and cries of pain all but gone. Zack's shouting all but gone. But, still, PSICOM soldiers, remained, one with a rifle on Thudar's head.

Thudar only felt pain as his consciousness left him. But, then, more shooting, and then, a loud booming male voice he didn't recognize shout out,

"What's the matter, PSICOM bastards? CAN'T TAKE THE FUCKIN' HEAT! I WILL SHOW YA HOW WE DO IT IN EDGE, MOTHERFUCKERS!"

…_for some reason…he sounds just like…Cid…_Thudar thought, as he finally lost consciousness, knowing that something was happening out there. Something that would save them all.

* * *

Fyras14: Well, this finally ends Light's story...for now. Anyway, no, these guys are not in Edge or anything, just in case you guys are wondering. Some things will be cleared out next chapter, and finally we will get to see Cloud in...well, not in action, persay, but he will definately appear. Next chapter, too, will explain the events that are now happening as Thudar now loses consciousness...

I had actually wanted to split this action into two, but as seeing as I had time, and well, what i would have added previously wouldnt have really worked out; Zack does die here, just like in the games. I tried to make his going out as heroic as possible but, I guess I failed, since it wasnt from his POV. And in case you are wondering why Nabaat took out the Turks in the helicopter and then decided to kill off the two SOLDIERs plus Light, well, you will have to wait next chapter.

Have a happy new year, people!

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


	12. Prologue To the Clouds

_They... who await,  
No gifts from Chance, have conquered Fate.  
_

**-Matthew Arnold**, _"Resignation," 1849_

* * *

**-Prologue To the Clouds-**

* * *

"_Hey, Cloud! How's it been?" _

"_**Ah, you know the usual…doing deliveries here near Rabanastre." **_

"_Phew…that's a long way from St. Ivalice, man." _

"_**I know. I told Marche not to wait for me too long…you know how worried he gets when I get home late…or a day late. And, mom's just as bad…" **_

"_Haha! I can imagine! Then again…" _

"_**Well, what are you up to, Zack? I haven't heard from you in a while." **_

"_Yeah, I've been busy." _

"_**Trouble?" **_

"_I met the prettiest girl ever today, Cloud. I don't think she likes me, though, tried to kill me a couple of days ago." _

"…_**should I be concerned?"**_

"_Well, I'm still alive if you're worried! Hahaha!" _

"…_**you will never change. So…what happened to this 'pretty girl'?" **_

"_She got away." _

"…_**She got…away…from you?" **_

"_Yeah…all famous super SOLDIER Zack lost the Blood Captain…oh, woe is me." _

"_**The Blood Captain?" **_

"_Cue the surprise. It never fails." _

"…_**you are incredible, Zack." **_

"_I know!" _

"…_**I meant in a bad way."**_

* * *

Everything hurt. His head hurt. His arm hurt…hell, even places he didn't know existed hurt. He was sure he was a pretty sight of bruising and blood right about now, but there was only one thing he could not really understand; if he was suffering so damn much, why did it feel he was floating in the clouds? He felt something soft below him, and he was warm. Was he actually dead? Or just—

"You are an idiot, Claire," came a sharp, strong voice from somewhere around here. "You go back to bed this instant, girl, you gonna get yourself hurt even more!"

"I don't care; I have to check on Thudar," came a second voice, vaguely familiar, feminine.

…_Mom? No…wait…her name wasn't—_

"Claire, listen to you, girl! You got shot, almost impaled by that poor dead fool, and you are checking on this other idiot! You gonna get sick all over again, woman! Now, go to your fuckin' bed before I decide to make another hole in that pretty body of yours, and I ain't kidding!"

"…I'm just worried…he hasn't woken up in-"

"In days…in days, I know, girly, I know…" came that tough voice again, sounding tired. "It's only been a week, Claire, give him time. If I may remind you, girly, you just woke up two days ago…not exactly the image of magnificent health. And besides…you know your body is tougher than cry-"

"Let's not talk about that…please, Barret," that girl, Claire, said.

He couldn't catch anything more before he felt something soft and gentle touch his forehead, someone kind whispering in his ear, "Please get better…" And with that, darkness took hold once more.

* * *

Fyras14: Hello folks! Sorry for the really long delay...I had a major case of writer's block and school was as nice as always to me, and so many things happened: for starters as listed in my profile a month ago, one of my teachers, without really meaning it, did something nasty to my USB where I happen to keep all of my stuff from school and stories and now, them folders will no longer open no matter what I do to them, except using a Mac to transfer them to another USB, and unfortunately for me, i dont got one.

However, a month or so before this happen I had made copies of this stories just in case something like this happened...I just kind of forgot about them. So for a couple of days I was angry over this whole mess before I decided to look over my documents and behold, I had them in my PC all the time..Sigh...well, crisis aborted...but, unfortunately, school was a big job...especially because I really had time to either update or I forgot.

Okay, I wrote last chapter that you would get answers to this...wrong. I plan to explain all this mess in full after Cloud's part of the story is over. I probably will come back to fix the chapters on a later date, but for now, enjoy this chapter. To point it out, Cloud's story starts after Zack's confrontation with Lightning, as it indicates in the start.

Hope you enjoy, and sorry about the delay!

**Summary: **Lies. Betrayals. A conspiracy. Everything is related…the end of the world is coming…no one can save us now. AU. Multiple Crossover.

**Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted. And also, the characters included in this work belong to their respective owners, not me, so please be kind enough to not call a lawyer.**


End file.
